


the water is wide (i can't cross over)

by andtimestoodstill



Category: Anne of Green Gables (TV 1985) & Related Fandoms, Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Gilbert Blythe has Heart Eyes, Oblivious Anne Shirley, also i changed a scene to better adhere to proper hadnwashing practices, based on the miniseries canon, don't ask me how it works bc idk, gratuitous use of the nickname 'carrots', is james taylor an aesthetic?, part ii is way ore angst than is truly necessary, the love child of to all the boys/candy jar/hunger games
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:26:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 33,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23140147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andtimestoodstill/pseuds/andtimestoodstill
Summary: “What if it wasn’t a total lie?”“What?” Anne asked, finally looking at Gilbert. He had schooled his features back into cool indifference again.“We could go on a few dates, hold hands in the hallways. I’m not seeing anyone else… We could technically be a couple.”“Gilbert—” Ms. Stacey started.“I’m in,” Anne cut her off. She didn’t want Ms. Stacey to try and talk them out of it. All that mattered was that she and Gilbert were on the same page anyway. “But I have some ground rules.”“Of course you do,” Gilbert rolled his eyes good naturedly and collapsed into his seat. “Lay ‘em on me, Carrots.”(In which Anne Shirley would do anything to win the Avery, including dating Gilbert Blythe)
Relationships: Diana Barry & Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley, Marilla Cuthbert & Matthew Cuthbert & Anne Shirley
Comments: 29
Kudos: 319
Collections: Fandom Trumps Hate 2020





	1. Part I

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from [here.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJp2ymL08xg)

“Carrots.”

Anne Shirley didn’t bother looking up from her Econ homework as she said, “go away, Gilbert. I don’t have time for your shenanigans right now.”

“Ms. Stacey sent me to come and find you,” Anne could hear the teasing in Gilbert’s voice. Her gaze shot up to see Gilbert’s stupid, smirking expression.

“The Avery Foundation?” Anne was already packing away her homework.

“The email arrived this morning.”

“Well, come along then.” Anne shoved her notebook and binder into her backpack and stood. “Don’t dawdle, Blythe.”

Gilbert huffed out a laugh and followed Anne out of Avonlea High’s library and towards Ms. Stacey’s office. “Hello, Anne! Hello, Gilbert!” Mrs. Lawson, the receptionist, cheered as the two of them rounded the corner and into the main office. Her raven hair was pulled back into a loose chignon at the nape of her neck, and for the millionth time, Anne wished she had those same dark tresses.

“Hi, Mrs. Lawson. Is Ms. Stacey in?”

“She’s waiting for you two, go on in,” Mrs. Lawson smiled warmly at them before pointing at Ms. Stacey’s office, like Anne and Gilbert didn’t know which office was Ms. Stacey’s.

“Thanks, Mrs. Lawson,” she and Gilbert said in unison before hurrying into Ms. Stacey’s office. “Hi, Ms. Stacey,” they said again, in unison, Gilbert pitching his voice to imitate her. Anne turned to scowl at Gilbert who was already smirking at her.

Anne closed the door to Ms. Stacey’s office soundly so as not to throttle Gilbert Blythe. She was still dealing with the repercussions of tearing his copy of _The Outsiders_ in half from her first day at Avonlea Middle. 

“Hello, you two, sit.” Ms. Stacey gestured to the seats across from her desk, intimately familiar with Anne and Gilbert’s quarreling. “Did Gilbert tell you why I sent for you?” Ms. Stacey asked Anne.

“Yes, you got an email from the Avery Foundation?"

The Avery Foundation was a charitable foundation that provided financial support to students all over North Carolina. Their premier scholarship, colloquially referred to as “the Avery,” was a was awarded to one graduating North Carolinian senior every year through a highly competitive scholarship competition. The scholarship was worth $100,000; $25,000 a year for four years.

The first round of applications focused on merit, and each student submitted transcripts, test scores, and multiple letters of recommendation. From there, the committee selected fifteen students to move on to the finals, which mainly consisted of interviews and personal statements.

Anne was desperate for the scholarship. She had applied, and had been accepted to, Brown University early decision before winter break; and while they had given her a great financial aid package, winning the Avery would mean that Anne could completely focus on her studies and limit the amount of student loans she would have to take out to attend her dream school.

Gilbert was also desperate to win the scholarship. He was accepted early decision to Harvard, the over-achiever.

The problem was that the Avery Foundation had never had two students from the same school make it to the finals. But Anne and Gilbert were neck and neck at Avonlea High. They still didn’t know which of them would be Valedictorian at graduation, and Anne was sure that they wouldn’t until the day of.

Ms. Stacey had encouraged both of them to apply, even agreeing to add a section in both of their letters explaining why both of them should make it to the finals, despite the history of the competition.

“I did,” Ms. Stacey smiled warmly at them, trying to quell any of their anxieties with just her expression. “I haven’t opened it yet. I thought you two would like to be here for that.”

Gilbert and Anne nodded emphatically, and Ms. Stacey hummed under her breath as she turned to her computer. “I have the utmost belief in both of you, but if one of you doesn’t make it.” She looked between the two of them, “just know I think that’s _wrong_.”

Anne was suddenly very aware of Gilbert at her side. If he made it and she didn’t… Well, Anne wasn’t sure what she would do. Cry, maybe? Worse, if she made it into the competition and Gilbert didn’t, there was no telling what Anne might say.

“We know, Ms. Stacey,” Gilbert said. Anne just nodded.

Ms. Stacey’s attention returned to her computer. “Alright, are you two ready?” She cleared her throat and began reading. “ _Dear Ms. Stacey, I am pleased to inform you that both of your students, Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe are finalists in the Avery Foundation Scholarship Competition_ —Oh!”

Anne felt positively giddy with the news, she was one step closer to that first prize. The only thing standing in her way now was—

“Way to go, Carrots,” Gilbert grinned broadly.

“Don’t call me that,” Anne responded automatically with as much ire as she could muster in light of the good news; Gilbert’s impish grin didn’t waver.

God, he was _infuriating_.

“Shall I keep reading?” Ms. Stacey asked blithely. The two of them nodded and their college counselor continued. “ _As you know, the Avery Foundation Scholarship Competition is a beloved annual event, but there are big changes coming to the competition. This year, we will be filming the events of the competition and uploading a weekly web series to the Avery Foundation’s YouTube channel_ —how exciting!” Ms. Stacey exclaimed before returning to the email.

“ _The web series will follow each of the finalists through the competition, allowing the public to become more familiar with the students vying for the scholarship. For this reason, the Foundation is quite excited by the prospect that your students, Ms. Shirley and Mr. Blythe, will not only be the first finalists from the same school, but also the first couple competing against each other for the scholarship_ —”

“I’m sorry, what did you just say?” Anne asked, cutting Ms. Stacey off.

“That can’t be right,” she said, eyes scanning the screen. Her expression grew more and more distressed with each pass over the email. “For some reason—”

“Do they think we’re a _couple_?” Anne asked, voice rising dangerously at the end. Gilbert was stone-still next to her. “Ms. Stacey why do they think we’re a couple?”

Ms. Stacey’s mouth was twisted into a frown as she stared at her computer, right hand twitching over the mouse. “I’m looking for the recommendation letter I wrote for you two. Hm,” she hummed scrolling down the page. “Here it is.” She began reading from the screen. “ _I know that two students from the same school have not made it to the finals before, but Ms. Shirley and Mr. Blythe are a_ —oh, no.”

“What, Ms. Stacey?” Gilbert asked, his tone steady and contained.

“ _Ms. Shirley and Mr. Blythe are a_ couple.” Ms. Stacey finally looked up from her computer, eyes wide. “I meant to say, _Ms. Shirley and Mr. Blythe are a couple of remarkable students_. Oh _no_ ,” she put her head in her hands. After a moment she sat up, reading the letter again. “That’s the only mention of it in the whole letter, one misplaced period…”

“It’s alright, Ms. Stacey. It’s a simple misunderstanding, I’m sure if you emailed them back and cleared the air…” Gilbert trailed off, sounding convinced to none of them.

“You heard the email, Gilbert. The only reason they’re letting the both of us compete is because they think we’re dating, and they know it will get people to watch their stupid web series.” Anne sunk lower in her seat, stewing. “God knows if they had to choose between us, they’d pick you.”

“You don’t know that,” Gilbert said, expression guarded. Anne hated that look, hated that it was almost always impossible to read Gilbert Blythe.

“I’m going to email them right away, explain that it was all my fault and that it would be unfair to the both of you—”

“What if we went along with it?” Anne found herself asking before she could think to stop herself.

“What?” Gilbert asked, turning to face her fully in his seat. If anything, Anne’s question was enough to rattle Gilbert’s cool demeanor.

“I just mean,” Anne turned away from Gilbert, finding it much easier to say this to Ms. Stacey. “What’s the harm in pretending? If we give them a good story, the judges find us more interesting. It’s like _American Idol_ , people want a sob story. A boyfriend and girlfriend, both already committed to different elite universities, competing for the same high-profile scholarship? They’ll eat it up.”

“Anne, are you sure?” Ms. Stacey asked.

“No,” Anne answered truthfully. “But do we have another choice? They might take us both out of the finals if they find out.”

“She’s right,” Gilbert said. “And I’m willing to pretend if it might give us a better chance. I mean, what’s the worse that could happen?” he tried to catch Anne’s eye, but she was focused on Ms. Stacey.

“Well, I wouldn’t normally endorse lying to a scholarship foundation, but—”

“What if it wasn’t a total lie?”

“What?” Anne asked, finally looking at Gilbert. He had schooled his features back into cool indifference again.

“We could go on a few dates, hold hands in the hallways. I’m not seeing anyone else… We could technically be a couple.”

“Gilbert—” Ms. Stacey started.

“I’m in,” Anne cut her off. She didn’t want Ms. Stacey to try and talk them out of it. All that mattered was that she and Gilbert were on the same page anyway. “But I have some ground rules.”

“Of course you do,” Gilbert rolled his eyes good naturedly and collapsed into his seat. “Lay ‘em on me, Carrots.”

“Well for one, you have to stop calling me that. Boyfriends don’t tease their girlfriends.”

“Fine, when other people are around, I’ll stop calling you Carrots.”

“ _Gilbert Blythe_.” Anne glared at him, but Gilbert just grinned impishly. “Second,” she sighed, “I’m not lying to Matthew and Marilla. Or Diana, for that matter. I’m going to tell them about this whole ruse.”

“Alright,” Gilbert nodded.

“You can tell your father if you want.” Gilbert just shrugged. “Third, you have to let me pay for my half of our… dates.”

“Anne—”

“Look, I’m not going to be a financial burden, okay? We go Dutch or the whole thing is off.”

“Fine.” Gilbert huffed out a breath.

“Do you have any conditions?” Anne asked, it was only fair.

“Can I get back to you on that, Carrots?”

Anne bit her tongue, not wanting to lash out at Gilbert Blythe in front of Ms. Stacey. Again. “Sure, Gilbert.”

“Well, I guess that’s settled, then,” Ms. Stacey, said, looking positively rumpled. Anne felt sorry for her, she knew how hard Ms. Stacey had worked on their applications for the Avery Foundation, knew she must be kicking herself for her mistake. Anne knew she would feel the same.

They were kindred spirits, after all.

“It’s alright, Ms. Stacey. We’ll make it work.”

“Thank you, Anne. And you too, Gilbert. I know that this won’t be easy on you two—”

“But anything worth having won't come easy, you taught me,” Anne glanced at Gilbert only to find Gilbert already looking at her. He turned away. “Taught _us_ that.”

“You’re too sweet, Anne Shirley. Now run along, you two. Lunch is almost over.”

Anne and Gilbert stood, gathering their things, they thanked Ms. Stacey and then were on their way. The halls were empty, lunch not yet over, Gilbert at Anne’s side. “What about kissing?” he asked, apropos of nothing.

“What?”

“Am I allowed to kiss you?”

Anne took a moment to think. When she responded her voice was high and tight, “I suppose kissing isn’t completely out of the question. Nothing too lascivious—”

“Of course not,” Gilbert laughed. “But a chaste peck, here and there?”

“A chaste peck here and there,” Anne found herself repeating.

“And hand-holding?”

“Yeah, that’s alright. But can we start tomorrow? I want to tell Matthew and Marilla about it first.”

“Of course.” The first bell rang, at once, the sounds of their classmates started to filter into the hall. “What are you doing tomorrow night?”

“I don’t know, why?” The wave of students were getting ever closer.

“For our first date,” Gilbert smiled broadly. “I’ll pick you up at six?” He didn’t leave room for Anne to respond before he started walking away.

“Gilbert Blythe! Get back here right now!”

Gilbert disappeared into the crowd.

Anne was going to _kill_ him.

***

Anne fell heavily into the passenger seat of her best friend, Diana Barry’s, car a few minutes after the final bell rang. She let out a heaving, world-weary sigh, her best friend only grinning at her in return.

“Hi,” Diana cheered brightly, turning the key in the ignition.

“Hey,” Anne sighed, tucking her bag under her legs.

“You okay?”

Oh, sweet Diana Barry who could always tell when Anne was having a bad day. Anne could never feel terrible for long with Diana at her side. “Better now. But will you come over for dinner tonight? I have news.”

Diana looked poised to ask a million questions, but at Anne’s expression, her mouth quickly snapped shut. “Sure, can I come over before then? I need help on my Trig homework.”

“Of course.”

Diana grinned and then put the car in gear. They had to pick up Minnie May at the elementary school before they could go home, the tiny blonde bundle of energy climbing into the backseat, chattering excitedly about her day as soon as the door was open.

After navigating through downtown Avonlea, North Carolina at rush hour, Diana finally parked her car in the Barry’s driveway and sent Minnie May inside. The older girls grabbed their things and walked the quarter mile down the lane to Green Gables.

Anne had loved Green Gables from the moment she had laid eyes on it, with its wrap-around porch and its lovely white columns; the eponymous green gables just peeking out from the top of the peach trees that first summer she had arrived in Avonlea. She remembered looking over at her social worker, pinching the inside of her forearm, praying to any god who would listen, _Please don’t make me leave_.

Anna may have gotten into her dream school, but she hated the thought of leaving Green Gables behind.

“Matthew? Marilla?” Anne called out as she and Diana shuffled into the foyer, toeing off their shoes and hanging up their coats.

“In here,” came Marilla’s voice from the kitchen. Anne led Diana deeper into the house and into the kitchen, bright with sunlight even in February. “Oh, hello, Diana.”

“Hi, Marilla,” Diana replied.

“How was school?”

“Fine,” Anne responded. “Is it alright if Diana stays for dinner?”

“Of course, I’m making lasagna.”

“It smells great already, Marilla.”

“Thank you, Diana. Now you two go get started on your homework, I’ll call you down to set the table when it’s time.”

The girls hurried upstairs to Anne’s room, Diana ducking to keep from knocking her head against the slanted ceiling, and got right to work. Anne could feel Diana’s worry emanating off of her in waves, but she dutifully ignored it. Once they all sat down for dinner, Anne would tell them about the Avery Foundation and fake-dating Gilbert, and it would be _fine_. It would all be fine.

It had to be.

Marilla called them down for dinner about an hour later, the four of them settling down to eat just after 5:00.

“I need to talk to you all about something,” Anne said, faux-casual, as she passed the pan of lasagna to Diana.

“Is it about Brown?” Marilla asked, voice ticking up at the end in barely contained panic. “Has there been an issue with sending over your transcripts? God only knows why they need monthly reports of your grades. Your GPA should be proof enough that—”

“No, it’s not Brown.” Anne said, cutting Marilla off before she could work herself into too much of a frenzy. “It’s about the Avery Foundation, actually.”

“Did you make it to the finals?” Diana asked, ever hopeful.

“Yeah.” There was a chorus of cheers and congratulations, Diana squealed in Anne’s ear and hugged her tightly, the two of them twisted in their seats. Anne felt like she could barely return the excitement. She caught Matthew’s eye across the table.

“Is there something else?” he asked when the fanfare had died down.

“Um, yeah. Gilbert made it too.”

“I thought you said there has never been two finalists from the same school before?” Marilla asked.

“There haven’t been. They’re doing something new this year. In the email Ms. Stacey got, it said that they were going to film the proceedings and post a web series following the finalists.”

“Oh, that’s exciting,” Marilla said reproachfully. Anne knew that she just had to spit it out, she could tell she was making her family anxious.

“The reason Gilbert and I made it to the finals is that they are under the impression that we’re dating.”

There was a beat of tense silence.

“We’re not, by the way,” Anne clarified. “Ms. Stacey’s letter of recommendation had a typo in it—”

“That said _Anne and Gilbert are dating_?” Marilla asked, eyes wide.

“No. It was along the lines of _Anne and Gilbert are a couple_.”

“Good lord in heaven, I have half a right to call that woman—”

“Marilla! No!” Anne paused, her eyes slipping closed to take a deep, steadying breath. “It was a simple mistake that the foundation read way too much into. But Gilbert and I talked about it, and we’re worried that if they find out we’re not dating, that they might take one or both of us out of the competition.” Anne looked to Matthew for support, but he was staring dutifully down at his dinner. 

“So what’s your plan?”

“We’re going to pretend?” Anne didn’t mean for her voice to trail up at the end, but it was too late now. “I mean, what else can we do?”

“Tell the truth?” Marilla supplied.

“Look, it’s not going to be totally fake. Neither of us are dating other people. We’ll hold hands at school and go on a few dates...”

“And Ms. Stacey is okay with this?”

“No, not really. But Gilbert and I made the decision.”

Marilla heaved a rather large sigh. “Anne—”

“I know what you’re going to say. That we shouldn’t lie to the Foundation, but it shouldn’t matter if Gilbert and I are dating or not. If it gets me in front of the final of judges, why should it matter who they think I may or may not be dating? Don’t the ends justify the means?”

“All is fair in love and college scholarships?” Diana joked, a smile quirking at her rosebud mouth.

“Yes, _exactly_. Thank you, Diana.” Diana preened but when Anne’s gaze slid over to Marilla, her guardian was still very much not pleased. “I don’t know what else to do, Marilla.”

Marilla sighed, world-weary but still fond. “How do you always manage to get yourself into these kinds of predicaments, Anne?” There was a stern set to Marilla’s mouth, but a smile crinkling at the corner of her eyes.

“Something about my spirit attracts trouble, I suppose,” Anne smiled.

And that was that, the four of them set back to eating their dinner. At this point, Matthew, Marilla, and Diana were all used to Anne’s proclivity for getting into trouble.

After they were finished eating, Diana thanking Marilla profusely for dinner and walking home, Anne stood to help Marilla clear the table. “I don’t want you to lie for me,” Anne said, piling the plates on top of one another. “So if anyone asks, you can remind them that gossiping is a sin and that they can speak to me or Gilbert about our relationship.”

“I doubt that will deter Rachel, but I will keep it in mind.”

“What do you mean? Rachel Lynde hasn’t kept her opinions about me to herself before,” Anne countered.

Marilla playfully swatted Anne with a dish towel, and Anne flicked soapy water at her in retaliation. Rather than escalating any further, Marilla pulled her close and pressed a kiss to Anne’s temple. “I’m so proud of you, you know.”

“I know,” Anne started washing the plates, handing them over to Marilla to be dried.

“But this plan of yours...”

Anne sighed and turned off the water, turning to Marilla. “You don’t have to worry about me, Marilla.”

“For once, it’s not you I’m worried about.”

“Then _who_?”

Marilla didn’t look up, taking her time drying the plate in her hands. “Gilbert.”

Marilla had dated Gilbert’s father, John Blythe, when they were in high school which is why Anne assumed Marilla had a soft spot for Gilbert all these years. Not that Marilla would ever admit to it, she refused to talk about her relationship history with John Blythe.

“Why are you worried about _Gilbert_?”

“Because it’s obvious that he has feelings for you.”

Anne couldn’t contain the incredulous laugh she coughed out, Marilla looked over at her, one fair eyebrow raised in question. “Gilbert Blythe and I can barely stand one another.”

“That’s not true, Anne. Maybe you can’t see it, but I can.” The _I know what a Blythe looks like in love_ went _very_ unspoken.

“Well, then that’s Gilbert’s problem. I’ll promise you one thing, Marilla,” Anne turned the tap back on and went back to rinsing plates. “I will not fall in love with Gilbert Blythe.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Anne.”

***

The next morning, Anne was doing a final check of her Calculus homework as Marilla slid a plate with two farm-fresh fried eggs and a pile of her homemade whole wheat bread toast across the table to her.

“Eat, Anne. I’m sure your homework is fine.”

“I have an exam coming up,” Anne said, putting her homework away regardless. “And I need to ace it if I want to be valedictorian. Gilbert has a,” Anne took a bite of eggs and toast, chewing and swallowing quickly, “natural proclivity for derivatives. It’s not fair.”

Marilla only rolled her eyes and went back to plating her own breakfast. By the time she sat down, Anne was almost finished with her plate. She gave Marilla a wide-eyed innocent look. “Fine, you can go back to your studying.” Marilla opened up the paper and started reading.

“Thank you,” Anne flipped her binder open and went back to checking her work. A few minutes later there was a knock on the door.

“I wonder who that is, will you go check?”

Anne hummed in assent and stood, padding down the hallway to the front door. Anne thought it might be Diana, she usually met her best friend at the end of the driveway, but if Minnie May was staying home and Diana didn’t have to wait on her, she would drive down to Green Gables and pick Anne up.

You could imagine Anne’s surprise when she opened the door and it wasn’t Diana, nor Rachel or Jerry or some other neighbor, was standing on the other side.

“Gilbert? What are you doing here?”

“I’m driving you to school?”

Anne felt her face draw together in annoyance. “Is that a question?”

Gilbert rolled his eyes. “Hi, Anne. Would you like a ride to school?”

“I don’t need a ride to school, but thank you, Gilbert,” Anne tried to close the door on him, Gilbert sticking his arm out to catch it.

“This is one of my conditions,” Gilbert said, pushing the door open. “For our, uh, agreement.”

“Why?” Anne asked, crossing her arms across her chest.

“I used to drive Josie to school.”

“You two live in the same neighborhood.”

Gilbert sighed, drawing a hand through his dark hair. “People are going to expect me to drive you, Anne. And it’s not that far out of my way.”

Anne scoffed, incredulous. Green Gables was on the other side of Avonlea High from Gilbert’s house. Technically, their houses were quite close to one another, only separated by the pond; but driving was another matter altogether.

“Why should it matter what people think?”

“Do you want people to believe us?” Gilbert asked, one dark eyebrow cocked. Anne nodded mutely. “Then let me drive you to school.”

Anne hated to admit that Gilbert had a point, the whole school knew of their rivalry at this point, and God knows Anne would never live down tearing Gilbert’s copy of _The Outsiders_ clean in half in eighth grade as long as she lived in Avonlea. It was in their best interest to do everything they could to appear to be a real couple.

“Fine,” Anne said at last. “Let me go grab my things.”

Anne left Gilbert on the front porch, stalking down the hall and into the kitchen.

“Who was it?” Marilla asked, looking up from the paper.

Anne took her plate to the sink, rinsing it quickly and said, “Gilbert. He’s insisting on driving me to school.”

“It seemed like the proper thing to do,” Gilbert said, waltzing into the kitchen. “Good morning, Marilla,” he said with a bright smile.

Anne opened her mouth to berate Gilbert for walking into her house with his shoes on, but when she glanced down at his feet, Gilbert was only wearing socks. She snapped her mouth shut and walked over the table to put away her Calc homework.

“Good morning, Gilbert. Congratulations on making it to the finals for the Avery,” Marilla said, pulling her reading glasses off of her face and smiling up at him.

“Thank you, Marilla. I—"

Anne threw her bag over her shoulder. “Let’s go,” she said, tugging on the sleeve of Gilbert’s coat, cutting him off.

“ _Anne_ ," Marilla admonsihed.

“No, it’s alright,” Gilbert laughed. “We can chat later tonight.”

“Tonight?”

“When I pick Anne up for our date?”

“Your date?” Marilla turned to Anne, the redhead’s face flushing bright red. Marilla’s mouth twisted into a small smirk. “Of course.”

“We really should go,” Anne said, cheeks burning. “Bye, Marilla.”

“Bye, Marilla,” Gilbert parroted good-naturedly.

“Goodbye, you two.” Marilla slipped her spectacles back on and turning back to her paper. “Have a good day.”

Anne finally succeeded in getting Gilbert out the door, the two of them stopping in the foyer to put their shoes on. From the porch, Anne quickly texted Diana.

_Gilbert Blythe has kidnapped me. Please send help._

Gilbert led the way down to his car, a red pick-up truck that he had started building with his father the summer before their freshman year. He moved to open Anne’s door, but she pushed him out of the way.

“Just get in the car, Gilbert,” she huffed.

Gilbert laughed and walked around the front of the car and climbing into his seat. Anne clambered up into the cab and buckled her seatbelt when her phone buzzed in her hand.

 **Diana Barry** 💛  
Does that mean I don’t have to drive you today?

Anne huffed out a breath as Gilbert turned the car on and shifted it into gear.

_Nope. Seriously, please put me out of my misery._

**Diana Barry** 💛  
Can’t, I still need help in Trig

_You’re lucky I love you enough to put up with Gilbert Blythe_

**Diana Barry** 💛  
You’re right, I am

“So what’s our plan?” Gilbert asked, turning on to the main road.

“What do you mean?” Anne asked, tucking her phone into her coat pocket.

“How do we announce ourselves as a couple? Should I go around telling people we’re dating? Perhaps we could post some gushy photos on Instagram?”

Anne knew Gilbert was joking, it was obvious that he liked to get a rise out of her, but Anne couldn’t help rising to his teasing; it was her fatal flaw. “Shut up, Gilbert.”

Gilbert had the audacity to laugh. “I’m serious!”

“I think holding hands will get the point across.”

Gilbert shrugged, “alright, Carrots.”

Anne huffed quietly, glancing out the window, it was going to be a long day.

***

Anne was right, of course. There was something especially exhausting about people staring at her all day long. The news about hers and Gilbert’s relationship had spread like wildfire; the whispers of her classmates following Anne through the halls.

Gilbert was surprisingly decent about it all, pretending that he couldn’t hear the incredulous murmuring from seemingly every student at Avonlea High, and quite a few teachers. He held Anne’s hand and didn’t shy away from really selling the story.

He walked Anne to her homeroom, leaning close to whisper, “Bye, Carrots,” in her ear before pressing a chaste kiss to her cheek. He stepped back, dark eyes twinkling mischievously. “I’ll see you in Calc.”

At the end of the day, Anne could only put up with Gilbert for so long. She had declined his offer for a ride home, falling heavily into the front seat of Diana’s car mere minutes after the last bell rang.

“How was your day?” Diana asked.

“Awful.”

Diana hummed sympathetically, turning the engine over and backing out of the spot. “I overheard Josie Pye talking about you two in Trig.”

“Ugh,” Anne groaned. Josie and Gilbert broke up months ago, the blonde dating a series of UNC Charlotte boys since. Anne didn’t understand why she cared so much about who Gilbert was dating. Josie was allegedly the one who broke up with him, and she had obviously moved on to bigger and better things. She relayed this idea to Diana who just rolled her eyes and turned into the elementary school’s parking lot.

“Just because they’re broken up, doesn’t mean Josie wants Gilbert to date other people.”

“Maybe we should tell her that it’s not real.”

“Anne, _no_ ,” Diana turned to her, eyes wide in concern. “If you tell Josie, she’ll make _sure_ the Avery finds out. I wouldn’t put it past her to pin it all on you and get the foundation to sympathize with Gilbert.”

“I hate when you’re right.” Anne watched Minnie May hurry over to the car. Anne let herself get lost in the dramas of fifth grade on the ride home, distracting herself from her own troubles.

Marilla had insisted that Anne get all of her homework done before she was allowed to go out with Gilbert, and for a moment she considered lying and saying that she had too much work to do so that she wouldn’t have to go on the stupid date, but she hated lying to Marilla under any circumstance.

It wasn’t like she had a lot of homework to do, anyways. Anne had camped out in the library during lunch to avoid any further ridicule in the cafeteria and finished most of her assignments then.

“Anne!” Marilla called up the stairs. “Gilbert’s here!”

Anne sighed, taking one last look at herself in the mirror. Diana helped her pick out an outfit over the phone even though Anne didn’t see why she couldn’t just wear what she wore to school that day.

“It’s not a _real_ date, Diana,” Anne said, pulling on the skirt Diana had suggested regardless. “I don’t have to impress him.”

“That’s not the point, Anne. It needs to look like a real date from the outside. If Josie Pye sees the two of you and you’re still wearing what you wore to school, she’ll know something is up.”

Anne regarded herself in the mirror, and had to admit that Diana was right.

“Coming!” Anne responded, grabbing her favorite pair of boots and her coat before flouncing down the stairs, careful not to slip in her tights. She followed the sound of voices to the kitchen, boots in hand, peacoat thrown over her arm.

Gilbert was sitting at the kitchen table chatting with Marilla. In the time it took for Anne to make her way downstairs, Marilla had already procured a steaming mug of tea and a plate of biscuits for him.

Marilla was smiling, fully engaged in Gilbert’s story. Matthew, on the other hand was not staring at Gilbert Blythe lovingly. In fact, he was glaring, as much as Matthew _could_ glare, at the back of Gilbert’s head

Anne loved him so much.

She pressed a kiss to the top of Matthew’s head as she passed him. “Okay Gilbert, let’s go.”

“Let him finish his tea,” Marilla chided.

“He’s going to spoil his dinner.”

Gilbert laughed, downing the rest of his drink. “Alright, alright, Carrots.” He stood, but before Anne could drag him out of the kitchen, he took one last cookie off the plate, “for the road,” he explained at Anne’s look. “Thank you again, Marilla. And you too, Matthew.”

Matthew grunted in response and followed them to the door. Anne shoved her feet into her boots as Gilbert did the same. “You’ll have her home by curfew,” Matthew said gruffly.

Anne quietly snickered to herself as she laced up her shoes. “When’s your curfew?” Gilbert asked her.

“Eight,” Matthew responded.

“Matthew!” Marilla called from the kitchen. Age had no effect on her keen ears.

“Nine,” he huffed out at last. When Anne looked up, Gilbert was still smiling, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Anne realized Gilbert was _frightened_.

Of _Matthew_.

Oh, this was definitely the highlight of her night.

“Remember, it’s not a real date, Matthew.” Anne went over and hugged him, arms going around his neck. She kissed him on the cheek.

“He has to accept you’re growing up some time,” Marilla said, appearing behind Matthew. “Now let them go, Matthew, or it will be your fault they’re late for curfew.”

They finally got out the door, it was already getting dark, the sun setting just a few minutes ago.

“Deja vu,” Anne said, walking over to Gilbert’s car, gravel crunching under her feet.

Gilbert laughed lightly. “Will you let me open your door this time?”

“Nope,” Anne said defiantly, opening the door for herself and climbing up into the cab.

Gilbert refused to tell Anne where they were going, not that there were many hot date spots in Avonlea. Anne was pleasantly surprised when Gilbert pulled into the lot next to the Avonlea Bistro rather than Lucy’s Diner. The only problem with the Avonlea Bistro was the owner.

Rachel Lynde, gossip extraordinaire, bought the restaurant a few years ago when Mrs. Montgomery wanted to retire a few years ago. The Bistro was a cornerstone of Avonlea, and while no one wanted it to close down, Mrs. Lynde was insistent that it wouldn’t. She bought the restaurant and used it as an excuse to spy on the poor citizens of Avonlea.

It was fancier than Lucy’s, and there was a good chance Lucy’s was crowded with their classmates as it always was.

“The Bistro?” Anne asked as they walked from the car to the restaurant.

“I figure the best way to get the news out about us is for Rachel Lynde to find out.”

Anne was surprised by a genuine laugh. “That woman has no shame.”

Their date went much better than Anne expected, especially considering her relationship with Gilbert was tenuously amicable at best and outright hostile at worst. Rachel came out of the back office about halfway through their meal, her eyes bugging out wide at the sight of them.

“Who do you think she’s calling first?” Gilbert asked as Rachel disappeared into her office again.

“Marilla, surely,” Anne laughed. “Just to make sure we’re actually on a date. Rachel loves to gossip, but she hates being wrong.”

Gilbert’s laugh was bright and sincere, mouth spreading wide in a grin. As it turned out, Gilbert Blythe wasn’t so bad when he was smiling like that; like Anne was finally in on the joke.

He fought her on the bill at the end of the night, but Anne had come prepared, slapping down some of the cash she had saved up from her summer jobs, and refused to take no for an answer.

Anne also refused to let Gilbert drive her home. “You’ll have to drive all the way around the pond _and_ back. Just think of the environmental impact, Gilbert.”

They hadn’t got back into his car after dinner, arguing across the hood of the truck instead. “Anne, I’m not going to let you walk home in the dark.”

“I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself Gilbert. Just drop me off at the bridge.”

Gilbert sighed, ever world-weary. “Here’s my counteroffer: Can I walk you across the pond?”

Anne wanted to hold her ground, but the determined set of Gilbert’s brow gave her pause. It was a reasonable compromise, and wasn’t that what relationships were all about?

“Fine.”

Gilbert’s smile made Anne want to take it back, but he unlocked the car and climbed into the driver’s seat before Anne could do anything about it.

He pulled over and parked near the bridge, climbing out and waiting for Anne on the other side of his car. The two of them walked shoulder to shoulder towards the bridge that arched over the pond, a comfortable silence between them.

“Today went well, don’t you think?” Anne asked, their elbows brushing against one another.

“I agree.”

“People didn’t seem all that surprised,” Anne said. The thought had been nagging at her all day.

“No, they didn’t.” Gilbert’s voice was tight and guarded; Anne wanted to know why, but she was too afraid to ask.

“I was worried it would be harder to convince everyone that we were together.”

“We’ve only just started. It’ll be harder to keep up the charade,” the teasing lilt was back in Gilbert’s voice. Anne was confused, Gilbert Blythe was impossible to read sometimes.

“We’ll be fine.” Anne hoped she sounded more convinced than she felt.

They were coming up on the mid-point of the bridge when Gilbert slowed to a stop. He leaned against the railing, looking down at the pond. At this time of night and this time of year, there was nothing to see, not even the reflection of stars across the surface of the water.

When Anne first came to Avonlea and saw the pond from the backyard of Green Gables, she had dubbed it the Lake of Shining Waters. She knew now that it wasn’t really a lake, but that didn’t matter to Anne. The pond held the same magic now, even in the dark and cold of February, that it did the first time she saw it.

The Lake of Shining Waters and the bridge over it always reminded Anne of that old James Taylor song. _One summer night on the Copperline, slip away past suppertime, woodsmoke and moonshine, down on Copperline_. She always thought if she was even just half as good at writing music as she was stories, she could compose a song just as beautiful about Avonlea.

“I was thinking,” Gilbert started.

“Dangerous,” Anne teased.

He glanced over at her, the streetlights above them casting his face in strange shadows. “Funny,” he deadpanned, but there was a smile tugging at his mouth. “But really, I was thinking that we should get our first kiss out of the way.”

Anne sucked in a breath, but she hoped Gilbert couldn’t tell. “Why?”

“Just so that when it happens for real, in front of people who actually think we’re together, that it seems convincing. We just need to get the first kiss jitters out of the way.”

Gilbert did have a good point, unfortunately. Anne was nervous at the prospect of kissing Gilbert Blythe at some point, in the future. This would at least alleviate some of her anxieties.

The problem was, and she was not going to tell Gilbert Blythe this _eve_ r, that Anne had never kissed anyone before.

Almost eighteen, and never been kissed. It was a tragedy.

It was just that Anne had imagined her first kiss to be like all of the great true love’s kisses in the books she read, with Heathcliff-out-on-the-moors levels of melodrama. Never in her seventeen years, did Anne think her first kiss would be out of utility, and with _Gilbert Blythe_ of all people.

Not that Gilbert didn’t give off _brooding out on the moors_ energy once in a while.

“Okay,” Anne replied, voice quiet in her chest. She wondered if Gilbert had even heard her—

And then Gilbert Blythe was kissing her. Lips on lips, hand on cheek, nose pressed against nose.

It was over before Anne even knew it had begun, Gilbert stepping out of Anne’s space. She missed his relative heat instantly.

“Oh,” was all she said.

“Sorry,” Gilbert looked thoroughly abashed in the yellow light. “I should’ve given you more warning than that.”

“It’s okay,” Anne said. And she was surprised to find that she wasn’t lying. In fact it was probably better that Gilbert got it over with before Anne could drive herself crazy with thinking about it.

“Should we?” Gilbert gestured at her vaguely. “Again? Just to,” he searched for the right words.

Before Gilbert could drive himself crazy thinking about it, Anne closed the distance between them, slotting their lips together.

Being more prepared for the kiss made it better, that was for sure. Gilbert’s lips were warm and soft, and he obviously knew what he was doing, one hand sliding around to fit itself against the small of her back—

Anne stepped away, gasping in a breath. She wondered how people were supposed to kiss and breathe at the same time, or if it always felt like that, like she was going to crawl out of her own skin.

“I should go,” she said, taking another step back from Gilbert, needing some breathing room. “Matthew and Marilla will start to worry.” Anne shoved her hands into the pockets of her coat. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Gilbert replied, cool mask of indifference making an appearance. “I’ll pick you up.”

Anne nodded and hurried across the bridge and up to the back entrance into Green Gables. The peach orchard was dark and quiet this time of night, but Anne could find her way to the old farmhouse with her eyes closed.

She let herself in the back door, leaving her boots in the mud room. There was the low murmuring of voices coming from the living room, Anne following the noise to find Matthew and Marilla, the former seemingly asleep, head tipped back across the top of the couch, and the latter watching _Jeopardy!_ with the volume low.

“Hi,” Anne said, settling on the arm of the chair Marilla was sitting in. Marilla wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close.

“How was it?”

“Not as bad as I thought,” Anne answered honestly, though she omitted the panic she felt at the end of the date when Gilbert had been kissing her.

“Rachel called me, asking if I knew you were out with a _boy_ ,” Marilla teased.

“I figured,” Anne laughed humorlessly. “I’m sure half the town knows by now.”

“They were going to find out sooner or later,” Marilla rubbed her arm placatingly. “Now go wake up my brother, if he sleeps any longer like that, he won’t be able to move his neck for a week.”

Anne stood and went to Matthew’s side, poking him in the arm until he shot up into a sitting position. “What—Oh, Anne.” His expression went from confusion to fondness easily, smiling warmly at her. His expression fell after a moment, eyes narrowing. “How was your date?”

“Not a date,” Anne reminded him. “But it was fine.” Matthew looked unconvinced. “Gilbert was a perfect gentleman.” At that, Matthew relaxed. “C’mon, you need to go to bed.”

Anne helped Matthew off the couch, and he disappeared up the stairs to his room. “He wanted to wait up for you,” Marilla said, turning off the TV.

“Why? It’s not like it was a real date.” Marilla levelled Anne with a disbelieving look. “What?”

“You can’t really tell me that you don’t think Gilbert Blythe has feelings for you now. He took you to _dinner_.”

“I paid for my half,” Anne replied haughtily.

Marilla rolled her eyes and stood, brushing past Anne, squeezing her shoulder as she walked by. “If anything that means he likes you more.”

Anne opened her mouth to respond, but she didn’t have a good defense ready. Gilbert had been compromising to Anne’s outrageous demands, all with a fond smile on his face. Anne shook the thought form her head; she didn’t want to entertain the idea of Marilla being right about him.

“I’m going to bed,” Anne said, turning on one heel and heading for the stairs. Marilla’s laugh followed her up to the second floor.

***

Only two short weeks later was their first day of filming for the Avery Foundation. A week prior, Ms. Stacey called Anne and Gilbert into her office to speak to a few people from the foundation on a conference call to plan out a loose filming schedule for the next week.

Anne was nervous, of course she was. Not only was a film crew going to be following her around for a day, but she also had to pretend to be dating Gilbert as well.

Not that fake-dating Gilbert was as bad as she thought it would be. It became a sort of routine, picking her up in the morning, taking her hand in the halls as they walked to class; they even ate lunch together a few times a week, though Anne refused to eat at Gilbert’s table with Charlie, Moody and his ex-girlfriend. Anne could not understand why he continued to hang out with the girl who broke his heart, but she wasn’t his real girlfriend, so it wasn’t her place to say anything.

Two days before the Avery Foundation was coming to Avonlea, Gilbert stayed home sick, and Anne felt strange all day. It wasn’t until lunch that she realized that she had gotten used to holding Gilbert’s hand; had become accustomed to having a cute boy by her side.

Not that she thought she needed to have a cute boy by her side to feel validated. Anne was perfectly capable of walking herself to class, even if Gilbert was at school. When he reached for her hand in the parking lot the next morning, Anne shook him off and went in search of her own friends.

Diana, being the only one of their classmates who knew what was going on, was livid about Anne’s ambivalence.

“It’s like you two want to get found out!” she exclaimed in a hushed voice as they took their seats at their lunch table; Anne pointedly not looking over at where Gilbert was sitting.

“I don’t need Gilbert Blythe,” Anne responded, cutting her turkey sandwich in half.

“You do if you want to win this scholarship. No one else is going to lie for you, Anne.” Diana took an angry bite of her sandwich, chewed, and then swallowed. “The filming crew is coming _tomorrow_. You can’t just ignore him.”

Anne knew that Diana was right, but she was still so annoyed with herself, and with Gilbert, with getting so caught up in the fantasy. “It’ll be fine, Diana.”

Diana huffed and stood, stomping away. Anne considered calling after her, but thought better of it.

Anne regretted not interfering when Diana marched over to Gilbert Blythe’s table. She leaned close to Gilbert, spoke to him for a few moments, and then marched back.

“What was that?” Anne asked, tugging Diana to sit down next to her.

“I told Gilbert to come over to Green Gables after school today.”

“Why?”

“Because you two aren’t taking this seriously, and someone needs to talk some sense into you. Also he’s driving you home.”

“Diana—”

“I need to pick some things up on the way home,” Diana huffed. She picked up her sandwich and started eating. Anne would have fought her more had Ruby Gillis and Jane Andrews not sat down, already chattering about the day’s gossip.

Anne barely spoke to Gilbert on the way to Green Gables, not that Gilbert didn’t try.

Gilbert turned down the driveway to Green Gables when he said, “c’mon, Anne, will you tell me what I did wrong so I can apologize?”

“Why do you care, Gilbert?”

Gilbert glanced over at him, dark brows rising up his forehead. “A lot of reasons. Obviously.”

“ _Obviously_?” Anne turned to him in her seat.

The car rolled to a stop, Gilbert shifting the truck into neutral and jerking up the parking brake. “What makes you think that I don’t care about you, Anne?”

Anne was fuming, she could feel her face starting to heat up in anger. She was so furious that she couldn’t _speak_ , and that was really saying something. With a huff, Anne unbuckled her seatbelt and clambered out of the truck, gravel crunching under her boots as she jumped down from the cab. She grabbed her backpack from the footwell and started up the drive.

“Anne!” Gilbert called after her, following Anne up the porch and into Green Gables.

“Leave me alone, Gilbert,” Anne dropped her voice to a harsh whisper. The last thing she needed was Marilla or Matthew to step in.

“Can we please just talk about this?”

“Anne? Is that you?” Marilla called from the kitchen.

Anne paused in the hallway between the foyer and the kitchen. “Yeah, Marilla. Gilbert’s here too. We’re going to do our homework in the living room,” she said, voice tight. “C’mon,” Anne tugged Gilbert towards the living room which was on the opposite side of the house from the kitchen.

Gilbert settled heavily on the couch, watching Anne carefully as she sat on the armchair across from him.

“Talk,” Anne snapped, voice low.

“I still don’t know what I did wrong, Anne.”

“Why does it matter what I’m upset about?”

“So I know not to do it again!”

“Are you two okay?” Marilla asked, walking into the living room, a tray in hand. From where Anne was sitting, it looked like sweet tea and plum puffs.

Marilla really did have a soft spot for Gilbert Blythe.

“Fine,” Anne said automatically. “Thank you, Marilla.”

She looked between the two of them, the disbelief apparent on her face. “Anne—”

“Are those your famous plum puffs?” Gilbert asked and that was enough to distract Marilla until Diana arrived.

Marilla left them alone after that, not without inviting both Gilbert and Diana to say for dinner. Anne hurried her out of the room before they could get distracted even further.

“So what are we doing here?” Anne asked, falling back into her seat.

“Look,” Diana started. “You two may be fooling all of Avonlea, but your hand-holding and thinly veiled acerbic remarks aren’t going to trick a bunch of strangers who don’t already think you two have been hooking up for years.”

“People think we’ve been hooking up for years?” Anne asked, incredulous.

“Be quiet, Anne.” Diana rolled her eyes and continued, “we need to get to work.”

Diana forced Anne and Gilbert to agree to a romantic backstory and then walked them through tightening up the privacy settings on their social media accounts to keep strangers from snooping through their accounts once the web series started.

“Last but not least,” Diana pulled out a pale pink instant camera from her bag. “Try to look like you like each other,” Diana said, pushing Anne towards where Gilbert was sitting on the couch.

Diana directed the two of them in an impromptu photoshoot, little rectangle photos spitting out of the bottom of the camera, Diana carefully placing them on the table. It was awkward at first, of course it was. But after a while, and after enough of Diana’s prodding and teasing, Anne relaxed into Gilbert’s side, smiling brightly up at the camera.

Anne gathered the photos afterwards, studying each one. They _were_ pretty adorable, Anne had to admit. She was almost convinced by the photos herself, one in particular catching her eye. Rather than looking at the camera, Anne was looking at Gilbert, the corners of her lips turned up in a laugh while Gilbert smiled at her fondly, cheek dimpling.

“Hang those up somewhere in your room,” Diana said, arbitrarily splitting the pile of photos. Anne noticed she was given the photo of her and Gilbert looking at one another. Anne shuffled the photos, glancing up at Diana. “And with that, my work here is done.”

“Thank you, Diana.”

“You’re welcome, Anne.” Diana packed away her things. “I should get going, my parents are expecting me home for dinner. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

After Diana was gone, so was the good mood. Tension settled on the living room of Green Gables as Anne and Gilbert were left alone together.

Anne did feel bad for ignoring Gilbert for most of the day, especially considering Gilbert didn’t really _do_ anything wrong. It wasn’t his fault that Anne was feeling so strange about this whole plan, he was just doing what he agreed to do. What they have both agreed to.

“Listen,” Anne said, picking at a run in her tights just as Gilbert said, “Anne—”

They both paused, eyes meeting, waiting for the other to continue. Anne sighed and turned to face Gilbert. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I didn’t?” he sounded genuinely confused.

“No,” Anne shook her head. “I was just starting to feel weird about all this,” she gestured vaguely with one hand, hoping that she wouldn’t have to explain it to Gilbert. She wasn’t sure if she could.

“It’s okay. Pretending to date is objectively weird.” Gilbert smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

But that was the problem, wasn’t it? It didn’t always feel like pretend.

“It’s only going to get harder,” Anne said, keeping her voice carefully neutral. “We could call it quits; say we broke up when they come to film tomorrow.”

Gilbert laughed, “and put all these adorable photos to waste?”

Anne rolled her eyes and huffed good-naturedly, “I’d reimburse Diana for the film.”

Gilbert put his pile of photos to the side, when he looked back at Anne his expression was open and vulnerable in a way Anne hadn’t seen since...

Well, ever.

“I’m not going to force you to keep up the charade if you don’t want to, but you don’t have to worry about me, okay? I’m all in, Anne.”

“Okay.” Anne tucked one foot underneath her, taking a moment to think. “I don’t want to just give up—”

“Of course you don’t, you’d rather break your ankle than admit that you’re wrong,” Gilbert teased.

“Charlie Sloane’s roof was particularly slippery that day,” Anne replied haughtily.

Gilbert’s laugh was bright, his eyes crinkling in a grin. “Anne Shirley.”

They settled into a comfortable silence. “Would you like to stay for dinner?”

“I probably should head home, actually.”

“Oh. Marilla will be disappointed.”

“I do hate to disappoint her,” Gilbert teased, “but my dad is making dinner tonight.”

“Can I walk you out?” Anne asked moving to stand.

“Yeah,” Gilbert stood and gathered his things. Anne watched him carefully tuck the pile of photos away into his binder.

“You ready for tomorrow?” Anne asked, following Gilbert through the door.

“As I’ll ever be.” Gilbert put his backpack in the cab. “I’ll see you then, Carrots.”

That was the first time he had called her _Carrots_ all day. Anne wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

“Bye, Gilbert.”

Gilbert climbed up into the driver’s seat, started the car, and drove away.

***

The next day was a pretty normal day at school, considering all of the very abnormal things going on in Anne’s life. Gilbert walked her to class, pressing a kiss to her cheek outside of her homeroom, smiling that infuriating little impish smile of his.

At lunch, Jane and Ruby gushed over the idea of Anne being in a web series, and they were demanding that Anne commit every detail to memory to relay to them later.

Matthew picked Anne up from school ten minutes before the last bell rang so that they could get to Green Gables in time for the film crew to show up.

“Relax, Marilla,” Anne said as her guardian sat her down at her vanity to address the coppery mess of Anne’s hair. Marilla had ushered her up the stairs as soon as she had walked in the door. She had been panic-cleaning the house all day in preparation for the filming

“You only get one chance to make a first impression, Anne.” Marilla combed through Anne’s hair. “And who knows how many people are going to watch these videos.”

“It’ll be fine, Marilla. We all know that I can charm just about anyone,” Anne smiled up at Marilla through the mirror, the corner of her mouth tugging up in a smile.

The crew arrived not long later, two shiny black SUVs pulling into the driveway. Anne and Marilla met them on the porch.

“This place is so beautiful!” an elaborately dressed woman gushed as she climbed out of the car. She was staring up in awe at Green Gables, much in the same way Anne did when she first saw it. The woman’s gaze finally landed on Anne and Marilla on the porch. “You must be Anne and Marilla,” the woman said, striding up the walk, hand outstretched. “Amelia Evans, director of _The Road to the Avery_.” That was the final name the foundation had settled on for the web series.

“Anne Shirley,” Anne said, taking Ms. Evans’ hand.

“What lovely red hair you have,” Ms. Evans said, seemingly sincere.

“Oh, thank you,” Anne responded, self-consciously reaching up to tug at the end of her braid.

“Marilla Cuthbert,” Marilla shook Ms. Evan’s hand. “Welcome to Green Gables.”

“Oh I love houses that have names, and what a great name it is. _Green Gables_ ,” Ms. Evans sighed dreamily.

Anne liked her already.

“Let me introduce you to the crew.”

There were six of them total, two camera operators, a mic operator, two production assistants, and Ms. Evans. Marilla led the crew inside, and they began to set up their equipment in the living room.

“Would you mind if I walked around, Marilla?” Ms. Evans asked. “I’d like to find a place to film with the best light.”

“Of course.” Marilla took Ms. Evans on a tour of the house, the director ooh-ing and ah-ing at the old farmhouse. In the end it was decided that Anne’s room and the kitchen had the best natural lighting. “I’d like to do your interview up here,” Ms. Evan’s said to Anne, taking a slow turn about the room. “This room has a lot of personality.”

“Thank you,” Anne said, taking the comment as the compliment it was.

Ms. Evans stopped at Anne’s desk, studying the cork board hung on the wall above it. “Is this Gilbert?” she asked, looking back over her shoulder at Anne.

Anne nodded, she had hung up some of the photos Diana took the day before. “Yes.”

“You two are so cute,” Ms. Evans grinned. “Let’s get this show on the road, we’re losing daylight.”

She had Anne sit on the edge of her bed, her desk and her bookshelf that was full to bursting with tomes. Anne watched as the crew worked in choreographed chaos, camera operators and production assistants weaving around each other easily. Before she knew it, the lights were on, the cameras rolling, and Ms. Evans was asking Anne to introduce herself.

“Hi,” Anne said, hoping she didn’t sound too nervous. “I’m Anne Shirley, I’m seventeen years old and I’m a senior at Avonlea High School in Avonlea, North Carolina.”

“Good,” Ms. Evans said, smiling reassuringly at Anne. She was seated just behind and to the left of the main camera. “Where are you going to school next year and what do you plan to study?”

“I was accepted Early Decision to Brown, but I’m not sure what I want to study yet. There’s so much I want to learn about the world, I can’t make up my mind. I think I’d like to take the first year just to take as many different classes as I can until I figure out what really calls to me.”

“Great answer.” Ms. Evans grinned. “Can you tell me your hobbies and extracurricular activities?”

“I’m the founder of the Avonlea Literary Society. It’s a club at school where we read classic works of literature as well as write. I’m also the captain of the speech and debate team, and I’m a two-time state champion in recitation.” Ms. Evans nodded entreatingly, and Anne continued. “I also tutor a few underclassmen in English and Math, and I really enjoy it. I also volunteer a lot, mostly through our church. As far as hobbies go, I love to read and write stories. I can find all the happiness in the world as long as I have a good book or a pen in my hand.”

Ms. Evans laughed. “Oh, you’re a _natural_ at this. Though, you are a two-time state speech champion, so I’m not surprised.” Anne was oddly reassured by that, letting out a heavy breath. Ms. Evans looked down at her notes. “Moving on, you said in your application that you were in the foster care system, can you talk about that?”

“Sure,” Anne said, steadying herself. “My parents died when I was just a baby, and there weren’t any family members who could take me. I don’t really remember a time before I was in the system, and I’m not really sure how many placements I had before I came to Avonlea. Some of them were really bad. There were some good ones, sure, but it wasn’t until Matthew and Marilla that I felt really, truly happy.”

Anne caught Marilla’s eye, she was standing in the doorway to Anne’s room, watching the filming. “I came to Avonlea, and I thought that I was dreaming, and then I met Matthew and Marilla and I wished that I would never wake up. They are the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

“Did they adopt you?” Ms. Evans asked.

“No, they’re my legal guardians. Matthew and Marilla are siblings, and only married couples can adopt children.” Anne shrugged, casually. “We’re a family. They’re my parents,” Anne said, “We’re just a little unconventional.”

Ms. Evans asked a few more questions, some of them similar to ones she asked earlier. She explained that when they would edit the interview together, it was always better to have more takes than less, so Anne might have to repeat more answers as filming went on.

After about an hour, Ms. Evans seemed satisfied with their shots and suggested they move to the kitchen. “I’d like to get some B-roll of you studying down there if that’s alright.”

“Of course.” Anne gathered her backpack and books and trialed down the stairs behind Ms. Evans. She set herself up on the dining table, Calc homework laid out for her to work on. It was surprisingly easy to tune the crew out as she turned her focus to derivatives and areas under the curve. 

Anne was so engrossed by her homework that she didn’t notice the front door opening, or someone new entering the kitchen until Gilbert Blythe said, “Hi, Anne.”

Anne’s eyes shot up to find Gilbert, a bouquet of flowers in hand, squeezing past one of the camera operators.

“Gilbert? What are you doing here?” Anne hoped she didn’t sound too accusatory. She almost forgot that people were supposed to think they were in love.

“I thought I’d surprise you,” Gilbert said, a teasing smile tugging at his lips. “Here,” he finally made it round the cameras, joining Anne at the table and handing her the bouquet.

They were white gerbera daisies with sunshine-yellow centers. “Thank you, Gilbert,” Anne said, tipping her face down towards the flowers in hopes of hiding the blush burning at her cheeks.

“Can we do that again?” Ms. Evans asked, Anne turning to her in surprise.

“Huh?” Gilbert asked.

“Can we get you walking in and giving Anne the flowers again? I want to make sure we get a few different angles.”

Anne handed over the flowers and Gilbert stood; his face blank. Anne knew Gilbert well enough by now to know that face meant that he was trying so hard not to show how he truly felt, but Anne knew he must be annoyed by having to pretend to walk in all over again.

It took a few more tries, but Ms. Evans was finally happy with the shot a few minutes later, Marilla taking the flowers to put them in water. She told Gilbert to sit down so they could get B-roll of their study date.

“Did you bring something to do, or did you plan on just sitting in my kitchen while I did homework?” Anne teased.

“I brought my homework,” Gilbert laughed, retrieving his bag from the ground.

They sat side by side for a few minutes, not speaking, attention glued to their assignments. “Oh, you two really are made for each other,” Ms. Evans said, laughing. Anne felt her cheeks burning again, but she didn’t look at Gilbert. “Will you tell us how you two got together?”

Anne felt Gilbert tense at her side. They had rehearsed this yesterday with Diana, but she could tell he still wasn’t quite comfortable with the lie. Anne took the leap and said, “well, we’ve been academic rivals for years, but that means we share a lot of the same classes. You’d be surprised how your feelings can change when you spend enough time with someone,” Anne shrugged casually, watching Gilbert carefully out of the corner of her eye.

“That’s Anne’s story,” Gilbert said. “But I’ve had a crush on her for years.”

“ _What?_ ” Anne asked, a little too heartily.

“Let’s hear more about that,” Ms. Evans said, obviously intrigued.

“Ever since Anne came to Avonlea in eighth grade, I’ve had a crush on her.”

Anne could feel herself start to shake in anger. This was not their plan. They had decided, and Diana had agreed, that the best course of action would be to have a generic romantic backstory. Just intriguing enough to get the foundation interested, but not interesting enough that when they ‘broke up,’ there would be a lot of fanfare.

“I thought she was cute, of course—” Of course? _Of course?_ Anne was going to kill Gilbert Blythe. “But on her first day at Avonlea Middle, she wouldn’t give me the time of day. I did what I thought I had to do and literally pulled her pigtails,” Gilbert, for the first time since blowing up their whole plan, had the audacity to look over at Anne. He was smiling impishly, and Anne wanted to rip the haughty little expression off his face. “She had her hair in two braids, and I pulled on one of them and called her _Carrots_.” Gilbert laughed, eyes twinkling. “She got so mad that she took my copy of _The Outsiders_ and tore it right in half.”

Anne could feel her face burning in embarrassment as she always did when someone brought up that story. God, she wanted the earth to open up right then and swallow her whole.

“Did you have to use the torn up copy all year?” Ms. Evans asked.

“Oh, no.” Gilbert laughed, turning back to the camera. “After I finally apologized, because in hindsight, I definitely shouldn’t have done it, Anne gave me her copy and she took the ripped one.”

“Marilla made me,” Anne confessed. _In for a penny, in for a pound_.

Gilbert laughed. “I didn’t know that. I assumed you did it out of the goodness of your heart.”

“Trust me, Gilbert. Nothing I did for you back then was out of the goodness of my heart.”

Gilbert threw his head back to laugh, a real genuine belly laugh. “That’s true,” he said to the camera. “She once fell off a roof to try and make me look bad in front of our classmates.”

“Really?” Ms. Evans asked.

Anne winced. Marilla was under the impression that Anne fell off Charlie Sloane’s roof to rescue a barn cat. She caught Marilla’s eye across the kitchen, but her guardian didn’t look mad; in fact she looked as if she was trying to keep an amused smile from overtaking her face. “Yeah, not my finest moment.”

“You two are adorable,” Ms. Evans grinned. “But I think it’s time we get Gilbert’s solo interview done while we still have some good light.”

Anne was shooed off the kitchen table with little fanfare. They set up the cameras similar to their configuration for Anne’s interview, Ms. Evans sitting to the left of the main camera. She had Gilbert introduce himself and his plans for next year.

“Hi, my name is Gilbert Blythe, I’m eighteen years old, and I’m a senior at Avonlea High School in Avonlea, North Carolina. Next year I’ll be doing the pre-med track at Harvard.”

“Impressive, can you tell me your hobbies and extracurricular activities?” Ms. Evans asked.

“I’m student body president and one of three co-captains for the varsity football team. In my free time, I like to help my dad at his auto-body repair shop. We’ve been building and remodeling a classic cars together for years. I like doing things with my hands, I think that’s why I want to be a doctor.”

Ms. Evans was smiling broadly, nodding along. “Fabulous answer, Gilbert. Speaking of your father,” she looked down at her notes, “you wrote about him in your application essay. Will you tell me a little more about him?”

“Uh, yeah,” Gilbert took a steadying breath, eyes trained down on his hands. After a moment he looked up, not into the camera lens like Ms. Evans had instructed him, but up at Anne. They held each other’s gaze for a few beats before Gilbert looked away. “My freshman year, my dad was diagnosed with stage II colon cancer. His original prognosis looked good, but he took a turn for the worse that Christmas. My mom died when I was a kid, so I was really all he had.”

Anne felt her heart clench in sympathy. She remembered that year, seeing Gilbert walking through the halls of Avonlea High looking like a zombie, when he was in school at all.

“The school actually let me attend half-time so I could be with my dad more without ruining my GPA. I had to take classes over the summer to make up the credits—” Gilbert looked away from the camera again, immediately finding Anne. She nodded encouragingly, and Gilbert’s gaze went back to the camera.

“It was a rough year, but he was declared cancer-free that June and he’s been in remission ever since. I’m just so grateful every day that my dad is still here, I don’t know what I’d do without him.”

All at once, Anne felt odd and unsettled. It was one thing for her to tell her life story, from orphan to foster kid to the young woman she had become. But hearing Gilbert’s story, knowing that they would use his pain and misfortune for entertainment...

It just felt wrong.

“Well, that’s a wrap on today folks,” Ms. Evans said brightly. The crew started to pack away their equipment, a ballet in reverse. “Now I’d like to get both of your schedules for the next few days to pin down the rest of our filming.”

 _The Road to the Avery_ crew was staying in Avonlea for a few more days to get more footage of Anne and Gilbert. Ms. Stacey had already scheduled the crew to come to Avonlea High the next morning to get some shots of the two of them in class or in the halls, and Ms. Evans wanted to get B-roll of Anne and Gilbert in their various extracurricular activities.

“Let’s do that on Friday night,” Ms. Evans said, scrolling through her phone and typing something out.

“What?” Anne asked, she was furiously writing down shooting schedules in her planner, and missed what Ms. Evans was talking about.

“Date night?” she asked, looking up from her phone.

“Oh,” Anne looked to Gilbert, his expression betraying nothing. “Sure.”

“Great!” Ms. Evans put her phone away. “Now, I know it’s a little far in advance, but I’d also like to schedule something for April 25th.”

Anne flipped to April in her calendar, Gilbert going eerily still beside her. When she saw what was written in on April 25th, Anne knew why.

“That’s prom,” she said, voice light.

“Yes,” Ms. Evans smiled. “I think it would be a total hit to get some footage of you at prom. We wouldn’t film the whole evening of course, this isn’t MTV.”

Anne laughed, but she just felt like she was going through the motions. “We hadn’t decided on a plan for prom yet,” Anne said truthfully.

“What’s there to plan?” Ms. Evans asked. “It’s prom!”

“It’s fine with me,” Gilbert said.

Anne looked over at him, but his expression was unreadable. “Okay.”

“Fabulous!” At that, Ms. Evans gathered her things, thanked Marilla profusely for allowing them to film at Green Gables, and then was off.

“Would you like to stay for dinner, Gilbert?” Marilla asked once the house had settled back into quiet.

Gilbert looked over at Anne who just shrugged, unbothered. “Sure.”

Matthew came out of the woodwork as soon as the sound of the camera crew’s cars disappeared. The pleased look on his face from successfully dodging the strangers in Green Gables, slipped right off at the sight of Gilbert working on his Physics homework at the dining table. Gilbert didn’t see Matthew’s eyes narrow and focus on him, but Anne did, hiding her smile as she (finally) finished her Calc homework.

It didn’t take long for Marilla to throw together dinner, Anne and Gilbert being tasked with setting the table. Like most things they did together, setting the table became a competition; Gilbert trying to lay out the plates and napkins before Anne could set down the silverware, laughing and elbowing each other out of the way.

Dinner was delicious, as per usual, and Marilla brought out a chocolate cake for dessert. Gilbert had indulged in two slices, even sheepishly asking if he could take a third slice home with him.

“I should head home,” Gilbert said after insisting on doing the dishes, shooing Anne and Marilla away from the sink. Matthew had slunk off to the living room after dinner, seemingly exhausted from glaring at Gilbert all evening.

“I’ll walk you out.”

“I walked, actually.” Anne felt her eyebrows rise in surprise at Gilbert’s admission. “You know, environmental impact and all,” Gilbert grinned.

Anne felt herself smile, unbiddenly, in return. “Let me walk you to the bridge, then. It can be tricky in the dark.”

“Alright then.” Gilbert gathered his things, and Anne let Matthew and Marilla know that she would be back in a few minutes.

Gilbert often walked Anne over the bridge from town to Green Gables after their dates. Every time he did, one lyric of that damn James Taylor song kept getting stuck in her head. _First kiss ever I took, like the page of a romance book_. She tried to push the thought away; unsuccessfully, as usual.

“So,” Anne said once they were out the back door and walking through the dark peach orchard.

“So,” Gilbert countered.

“Was it your idea to, um, surprise me today?” It felt easier to ask this when she couldn’t see Gilbert’s face, couldn’t see his reaction to her question.

“No,” Gilbert answered. “Ms. Evans spoke to me yesterday.”

Anne breathed a sigh of relief at that. “Oh, good.”

“Good?” he asked, tone unreadable.

“I don’t know. It all still feels weird. And now with this prom thing...”

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that.”

Anne looked at Gilbert out of the corner of her eye, streetlights in the distance bathing them in warm yellow light. “Did you have another plan for what we would do for prom?” she asked.

“No, I hadn’t really thought about it,” he said carefully. “What about you?”

“I guess I’m just frustrated,” Anne admitted. “This isn’t how I pictured my prom going. Not that it’s your fault, and not that I’m having any regrets, but part of me is upset that it’s not real.”

“I get it.” Gilbert said reassuringly. “Do you want to talk about it?”

They were coming up on the bridge, Anne had more than enough excuse to decline Gilbert’s offer and turn around and go home, but she didn’t want to. “It’s not like I’m giving up some fairytale prom to be your fake date,” Anne joked.

“What do you mean?”

She rolled her eyes, “I don’t have boys lining up to ask me out, Gilbert.”

“What about Morgan Harris?”

“What?” Anne turned to him, eyes narrowed.

“Last year he asked me if you were seeing anybody because he wanted to ask you to prom. He seemed like he was really into you.”

“What did you say to him?” They had stopped on the bridge, facing each other.

“That as far as I knew, you were single. Did he not ask you?”

“No, he _did_ ask me.” Anne looked away, studying the houses across the lake. In the dark, it was difficult to figure out which one was the Blythe property. “I thought he was doing it just to be nice.”

Gilbert snorted incredulously, Anne whipping around to face him. “Anne, guys don’t just ask pretty girls to prom just to be _nice_.”

“I was tutoring his little sister!” Anne exclaimed defensively. “I thought maybe his mom put him up to it.”

“So you said no?”

Anne felt her face flush. “Oh God, Gilbert. I can’t believe I turned down _Morgan Harris_ asking me to the _senior prom_.”

Gilbert scoffed. “Trust me, you could do so much better than him.”

Anne studied him for a moment, but in the dark, Gilbert was impossible to read. “Like who?”

He didn’t look at Anne, continuing up and over the bridge. “Anyone you want, Carrots. Anyone you want.”

Anne couldn’t look at Gilbert, the next line of the song coming to mind for the first time. _The sky opened and the earth shook_. “I should head home,” she said.

Gilbert’s expression was unreadable as always. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Carrots.”

Anne turned and walked back over the pond and up to Green Gables.


	2. Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Before Anne could worry any further, the bridge above started creaking, as if someone was walking across it. “Hello?” she called out. “Is someone up there?” There was a mumbling of voices that Anne couldn’t quite make out from below. “I’m down here! On the piling!”_
> 
> _Anne cursed herself for being so helpless when none other than Gilbert Blythe leaned over the side of the bridge, peering down at an awkward angle to see her. “Anne? Is that you?” She hid her face against the piling, wanting to kick herself for getting into this whole mess. “I’m coming down there!” Gilbert called._
> 
> _“That’s not—” Anne started to reply, but it was too late. A shadow passed over her and then there was a great splash as Gilbert Blythe jumped into the pond from above. “Necessary,” Anne finished, scowling._
> 
> _“Come on, Carrots,” Gilbert said, swimming over to her, holding out a hand. With a heavy sigh, Anne let go of the piling and let Gilbert swim her to shore._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this took me so long, but buckle up folks because you're in for 20,000 words of angst and pining; what else could you want? 
> 
> Kissing? 
> 
> Fine, there will be kissing.

“Hi, Anne,” Josie Pye smiled condescendingly up at her. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m buying prom tickets,” the _obviously_ went unsaid. Josie was sitting at a table outside of the cafeteria a large banner reading _Senior Prom Tickets Sold Here!_ hanging up on the wall behind her.

“Oh,” Josie blinked up at her, fair eyelashes fluttering. “You and Gilbert aren’t going together?”

“What? Of course we’re going to prom together.”

“Then why are _you_ buying the tickets?” Josie hummed patronizingly.

When Anne and Gilbert had gone out to dinner for _The Road to the Avery_ , somehow he had gotten away with paying for Anne’s meal. Anne, not wanting to make a scene on camera promised to get Gilbert back in some way, finally deciding on paying for their prom tickets instead.

Not that Anne could tell Josie this for many, many reasons.

“It’s 2020, Josie,” Anne replied haughtily, smacking seventy dollars in cash down on the table. “Women can pay for dates. Two tickets please.”

Josie sniffed, taking Anne’s money and sliding over an order form. Anne filled it out quickly and took her receipt, leaving Josie, sour-faced, behind as she stalked off towards the library.

“Oh good, I was looking for you.”

Anne looked up from her copy of _Medea_ ten minutes later to find Gilbert Blythe standing above her. He settled in the chair across from her, pulling out his Econ textbook. The library was quiet around them, it wasn’t a popular lunch time spot.

“Were you?” Anne replied, trying to remain casually uninterested. She looked back down at her book, highlighting a line. _Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish_. She scribbled a note in the margin.

“Yeah, it’s Thursday.”

Anne glanced up at Gilbert studying him for a moment. He usually ate lunch with Anne and her friends on Thursdays. He looked so painfully earnest that Anne couldn’t stand it.

“Well, you found me.”

“You okay?”

Anne sighed, closing her book, leaving her pen and highlighter among the pages to mark her place. “I’m fine, I just had to deal with your ex while I was buying our prom tickets.”

“I’m sorry.” Gilbert sounded genuine, but his expression was guarded. “She’s...” he trailed off, thinking. “Something else.”

Anne wanted to ask why he remained friends with Josie, but she was afraid of the answer.

“Well you can be assured that Josie Pye is still _very_ into you,” she said. “So when we break up, you’ll have no trouble getting her back.”

Gilbert blanched at that. “What makes you think I want to get back together with _Josie_?”

“It’s obvious,” Anne rolled her eyes. “You’re always showing off in front of her, always trying to get her attention.”

Gilbert was flushed, but his tone was serious. “I am _not_ showing off for Josie Pye.”

Anne shrugged, opening her book. “Whatever you say, Gilbert. Hey, can I borrow your Calc notes? I can’t wrap my mind around slope fields.”

***

“Okay, I don’t want to give too much away,” Anne said, settling into Diana’s car after school the Friday before Spring Break, “but do you have any specific requests for your party tomorrow?”

It was the day before Diana’s eighteenth birthday, and Anne had volunteered to plan the whole thing as she had been doing since they were thirteen.

“Chocolate,” Diana grinned, turning the key in the ignition. “Lots and lots of chocolate.”

Anne already had plans to make the chocolatiest chocolate cake that evening, but she could still pick up some fancy truffles from the candy shop in town for them to snack on. Anne pulled out her phone and added it to the list of tasks she needed to accomplish before the party.

“Done and done,” she said, locking her phone and tucking it away. “Also, can we go dress shopping this week?”

“ _Yes_ , even my dad is getting on my case to find something.”

Prom was quickly approaching, and it seemed as if Anne and Diana were the last two girls in their class to pick out their dresses. They had good reason to put it off, Diana didn’t have a date (yet, Anne assured her) and Anne’s date was more formality than anything. She didn’t want to spend too much money on a dress when she didn’t care about impressing Gilbert Blythe who wasn’t even really her boyfriend.

They picked up Minnie May who was hopped up on sugar and pre-pubescent energy, clambered into the backseat, talking a mile a minute. Diana turned to Anne and rolled her eyes with a smile before pulling out of the parking lot and taking them home.

Anne spent the evening tirelessly preparing for Diana’s party, Marilla helping her with the cake and the favors, completely taking over the kitchen with their supplies. As she had requested for her last four birthdays, Diana wanted to have high tea in her backyard with Anne, Jane, and Ruby.

In middle school, Anne, Diana, Jane, and Ruby had high tea in Diana’s backyard many times, it was these little meetings that were the inspiration for the Avonlea Literary Society when they were freshman. At first, it was just an excuse for the four of them to hang out and talk about books and eat pastries and have something interesting to put on their college applications.

However, last year the Avonlea Literary Society doubled in size when Emmaline Harris, one of the freshman Anne was tutoring, and three of her friends joined the club. Anne was excited to welcome new members and glad that when the four of them graduated, the Avonlea Literary Society wouldn’t fade into obscurity.

Diana’s birthday was just for the original members though, Anne wasn’t sure she could handle making enough tea, scones, finger sandwiches, and cake for eight people.

“Good morning, Anne,” Mr. Barry said sleepily as he opened the front door early the next morning.

“Good morning, Mr. Barry.”

“You here to set up for Diana’s party?”

“Yes, would you like a scone?” Anne held out a plate with a single, fresh baked scone on it as a peace offering. “It’s still warm.”

Mr. Barry blinked at the scone tiredly before taking the plate. “Come on in.”

Anne grabbed the tray of scones and the tote bag of supplies and waved Matthew, who had graciously offered to drive her down the lane to the Barry’s, off before following Mr. Barry inside.

“I’ll be in my office,” Mr. Barry said, mouth full. He turned and disappeared down a hallway

“Thank you!” Anne called after him before setting herself to work.

Jane and Ruby wouldn’t be arriving until eleven, so Anne had two and a half hours to get everything together. She sent a quick text to Diana before she got started.

_Happy, happy birthday my dear Diana. I am currently in your kitchen preparing for your party, and you are not allowed down here unless there is a threat upon_ _your life_

Anne put her phone away and got to work.

***

“Okay,” Anne stepped back, pulling her hands from Diana’s face. “Open your eyes.”

“Oh, _Anne_ ,” Diana gushed, looking around in awe. “It’s amazing. The best work you’ve ever done.”

Anne had turned the Barry’s backyard into a fairytale, if Anne did say so herself. She pulled some of the patio furniture down into a little grove of fruit trees so they could drink their tea in the shade. Everything was decked out in soft pastel colors and there were garlands of silk flowers strung through the branches of the trees to celebrate the first day of spring. And Diana of course.

“You like it?”

“I love it, Anne.” Diana pulled her close and squeezed Anne around her shoulders. “This is going to be my best birthday _yet_.”

Jane and Ruby arrived not long after, the four of them dressed in their tea-time best. The two other girls gushed over Anne’s decorations, staging a little impromptu photoshoot before settling down for tea and pastries.

They opened presents after the hot tea had gone cold and the iced tea had gone warm. Anne went last, passing Diana a rectangle wrapped in craft paper and twine. “It’s a two-part gift,” she said. “Go on, open it.”

Diana grinned and pulled at the twine and then ripped off the paper. “Oh!” she exclaimed, turning the book over in her hands. “Anne Shirley...”

It was an illustrated copy of Tennyson’s _The Lady of Shalott_ , the first story they had read when they first established the Avonlea Literary Society. It had been a favorite poem of Anne’s growing up, moving from foster home to foster home, so when her friends had asked her to pick their inaugural book, _The Lady of Shalott_ was the first to come to mind.

“Follow me for part two,” Anne said, pushing out her chair and standing.

Jane, Ruby, and Diana followed suit and Anne led them down towards the pond. The Barry’s old rowboat was perched on the rocky shore, and Anne had decked it out with more silk flowers and the inside lined with lace tablecloths she had found in the linen closet at Green Gables.

“Anne,” Diana sighed dreamily. “You did all this for me?”

“Of course, dear Diana.” Anne tugged her close in a hug. “Now, Ruby, you should play Elaine. You’re the only one of us with golden hair.”

“Oh no, I couldn’t,” the blonde shook her head, golden curls falling about her face. “I’d die of fright.” Ruby could barely look at the boat, hand clutching Jane’s arm.

“You be Elaine, Anne,” Diana said.

“A red head could never play the lily maid; Tennyson would _never_ approve.”

Diana rolled her eyes good naturedly. “Who cares what Tennyson thinks?” Anne remained unconvinced and Diana sighed. “Your hair is darker now than just plain old red.”

“Really?” Anne asked, voice full of hope.

“Really,” Jane agreed. “I’d say that it’s definitely auburn.”

“Fine,” Anne relented. The only people she knew more stubborn than herself were her friends. “It isn’t authentic, but what the hell.” She reached up and unwound her hair from its braid, letting it fall over her shoulders. Anne carefully situated herself in the flat, lying down with her arms cross across her chest. “Lay the tablecloth over me,” she said, eyes closed.

“She really looks dead,” Ruby said as Diana knelt over Anne’s form to adjust the linen across her body. “I’m scared, Mrs. Lynde says there are leeches in the pond.”

“Oh shush, Ruby. You’re spoiling the effect,” Anne looked up at her friend, the blonde looking truly troubled for her. “And besides,” she added, tone lighter, “this was hundreds of years before Mrs. Lynde was born.”

Ruby and Jane giggled at that and Anne’s eyes fell closed once more. “Diana, you arrange all this,” she said. “It’s ridiculous for Elaine to be talking when she’s supposed to be _dead_.”

“Alright. Jane, the flowers.” There was a rustle and then Jane was pressing the bouquet of wildflowers they had collected near the bank into one of Anne’s hands. Diana sighed. “For god’s sake, Anne, smile a little. It says here, _Elaine lay as though she smiled_.”

Anne relaxed her expression into one of peace and serenity, it was quite easy to do with the sound of the wind whispering through the trees and the smell of fresh cut grass to calm her.

“Good,” Diana said after a moment. “Let us send our sister to her watery grave,” she said to Jane and Ruby. The three of them each took turns pressing a kiss to Anne’s brow before they pushed the flat out into the lake, Anne floating away from the shore.

As Anne drifted, slow and steady across the water, she began reciting the poem she had memorized many, many years ago.

“ _There she weaves by night and day. A magic web with colors gay. She has heard a whisper say, a curse is on her if she stay. To look down to Camelot_.”

Colors danced across the lids of Anne’s closed eyes as she floated, there was a different kind of serenity out here. Anne continued on with the poem.

“ _She knows not what the curse may be. And so she weaveth steadily. And little other care hath she. The Lady of Shalott_.”

Just as she spoke the last line, Anne’s head was plunged into ice-cold pond water. Anne’s eyes shot open and she sat up to find the boat quickly filling with water. She began bailing water out of the bottom of the boat with her hands, to no avail.

The flat was coming up on the bridge, and in a fit of self-preservation, Anne reached out to grab one of the pillars as she passed, falling out of the boat, and soaking herself even further with icy water.

Anne vehemently cursed under her breath as she adjusted her grip on the piling, trying to hoist herself up out of the cold water as best she could. While Anne could _technically_ swim, she wasn’t very good at it, and she was already starting to lose feeling in her feet from the cold. The pond was deeper than it seemed, and Anne wasn’t quite sure if she would make it to either side of it in once piece.

Before Anne could worry any further, the bridge above started creaking, as if someone was walking across it. “Hello?” she called out. “Is someone up there?” There was a mumbling of voices that Anne couldn’t quite make out from below. “I’m down here! On the piling!”

Anne cursed herself for being so helpless when none other than Gilbert Blythe leaned over the side of the bridge, peering down at an awkward angle to see her. “ _Anne_? Is that you?” She hid her face against the piling, wanting to kick herself for getting into this whole mess. “I’m coming down there!” Gilbert called.

“That’s not—” Anne started to reply, but it was too late. A shadow passed over her and then there was a great splash as Gilbert Blythe jumped into the pond from above. “Necessary,” Anne finished, scowling.

“Come on, Carrots,” Gilbert said, swimming over to her, holding out a hand. With a heavy sigh, Anne let go of the piling and let Gilbert swim her to shore. He wrapped an arm around her middle, his touch searing in the cold water “What are you doing in the lake?” he asked.

“Fishing for trout,” she replied, refusing to look at him.

“Fishing for trout?” he repeated, a smile in his voice.

They finally made it to the shallows, Gilbert and Anne rising to their feet. Anne stomped, as well as her waterlogged shoes and soaking wet dress would allow, up the bank. They weren’t far from Green Gables, and she could see the house peeking out from the trees.

“Wait!” Gilbert called after her. Anne slowed to a stop, but didn’t turn around. “Anne, seriously. What were you doing in the pond?”

“Well if you must know, I was in Diana’s skiff and—” Anne had turned around to face Gilbert, but he wasn’t the first thing she saw. In the distance, up on the bridge, was Josie Pye. She waved at Anne, surely a smirk pulling at her mouth. “Is that _Josie_?”

Gilbert glanced behind him, up at the bridge where Josie was waiting. “Oh, um—”

“What are you doing with her?” Anne’s voice rose dangerously at the end.

Gilbert rolled his eyes, brushing off Anne’s hysteria. “We were headed to Charlie’s house to meet him and Moody there.”

“And you had to walk over _together_?”

“We live in the same neighborhood!”

“Are you back together with her? Because if you ruin my chance at the Avery because the girl you’re in love with, who _hates_ me, by the way, tells the foundation that we’re not actually dating, I’m going to _kill_ you.”

Gilbert’s face slipped back into an unreadable mask. All he said was, “I’m not in love with Josie Pye.”

Anne scoffed. “Don’t lie to me, Gilbert.” He looked as if he wanted to dispute her claim, but it was no use. “I need to go.”

“Anne—”

“And stop trying to rescue me, okay?” she said, stepping away from him. “I can take care of myself.”

That finally shut Gilbert up, and Anne was able to march up the bank towards Green Gables and her friends and a hot shower and dry clothes.

***

“Why was he with Josie?” Diana asked, incredulous. They were sitting at the dining table in the kitchen of Green Gables eating the leftover scones from Diana’s party the day before.

After Anne made it out of the pond and up to Green Gables, she found Diana, Jane, and Ruby. The three of them saw the boat sinking and had rushed over to Green Gables immediately to get help from Matthew. Anne assured her friends that she was alright, but she wasn’t feeling up to doing any more than showering and crawling into bed.

Diana came over the next morning so she and Anne could go prom dress shopping and Anne relayed the story of Gilbert finding her and bringing her to shore.

“He said that they were going to Charlie’s house, but I know it was more than that. He’s still in love with her.”

Diana studied Anne for a moment. “Did he say that?”

“Say what?” Anne popped a bite of scone in her mouth.

“That he was still in love with Josie?” Anne shook her head, mouth full. “Well then how can you _know_?”

Anne swallowed her scone. “I can tell.”

Diana finished her coffee and took her plate and mug to the sink. “Sure you can,” she said, facing away from Anne.

“Whatever,” Anne rolled her eyes. “I don’t want to talk about him anymore. Are you ready?”

There were really only two options for prom dresses in Avonlea, Lawson’s Best and Goodwill. Diana drove them into town, parking her car half a block away from the former store. “Do you have any idea what you want?” Anne asked her as they climbed out of the car.

“No,” Diana sighed. “I imagine all the best dresses will already be taken. We should’ve gone _weeks_ ago.”

“I didn’t even know I was _going_ to prom weeks ago.”

“Were you really not going to go if you didn’t have a date?”

“I don’t know,” Anne shrugged and opened the door to Lawson’s Best.

“Hello, Anne. Hello, Diana,” Mrs. Lawson grinned as the two of them walked inside. “I was wondering when I would see you two.” Mrs. Lawson worked part-time as the secretary in the counselor’s office at Avonlea High, but she had always loved fashion above all else.

“Hi, Mrs. Lawson,” Anne and Diana said in unison.

“Diana, I have a couple of options I think you would look great in. And Anne,” Mrs. Lawson was already pulling dresses from a rack, but she looked up at Anne and considered her for a moment. “I have the perfect dress for you.”

Mrs. Lawson hung up an armful of frocks in one of the dressing rooms for Diana. “I’ll go grab your dress, Anne,” she said, pointing Anne to the other dressing room. A minute later, a light blue pile of tulle was lifted up and over the door.

“Thank you, Mrs. Lawson,” Anne said taking the dress and hanging it up on a hook on the back of the door.

It was a gorgeous ice-blue ballgown with a full skirt covered in white lace appliques. The bodice was made of satin or silk organza with off the shoulder straps. Anne was in love with it. She trailed a reverent hand over the material, just picturing what it might be like to wear it to prom.

Anne stripped down and slipped the dress over her head. Once it was zipped, she turned and regarded herself in the mirror. The fit was perfect, the color was perfect, and Anne didn’t want to take it off.

“Anne?” Diana asked through the door. “You need help?”

“No, no. I’m done.” Anne pushed open the door and walked out.

“Wow,” Diana said as Anne closed the door to the dressing room behind her. She was wearing a pretty gray dress with cap sleeves. “Anne...”

“It’s perfect, right?” Mrs. Lawson asked. “When it came in, I immediately thought of you. That color looks lovely with your red hair.”

“It’s too bad you’re not coming to UNC with me,” Diana joked. “It’s a perfect Carolina Blue.”

Anne couldn’t take her eyes off her dress in the mirror. “How much is it?” she asked, afraid of the answer. Mrs. Lawson handed Anne the tag hanging off the skirt of the dress.

_$289.99_

Anne sighed disappointedly. She could technically afford it, but Anne had insisted on paying for the dress herself considering she was only going to prom for show. It felt wrong to take Matthew and Marilla’s money.

“Oh.”

Diana came over and looked at the price tag. “Let me help you—”

“No, no, it’s alright,” Anne sighed, taking one last long look at herself in the mirror. “Thank you so much, Mrs. Lawson, but I just can’t afford it—"

“Don’t worry about it.” Mrs. Lawson smiled kindly at Anne through the mirror. “Now, Diana, that dress looks real pretty on you, but I don’t think it’s the one.”

In the end, Diana decided on a satin sheath dress with thin straps in a dusty mauve color. She paid for her dress, Mrs. Lawson carefully slipping it into a garment bag. Diana carried the dress out to the car, a spring in her step.

They drove to Goodwill next, there was a rack at the back of the store with all of their formal wear. Anne flipped through the dresses, but nothing anywhere near her size caught her eye.

“They’re not going to live up to the blue dress, Anne,” Diana said, holding out a beaded black dress. “At least try this one on.”

In the end, Anne and Diana both agreed that the black dress wasn’t worth the $35 price tag and they left Goodwill empty-handed.

“How about I got to Charlotte with you this weekend? We can stay with Aunt Jo and check out the consignment shops there. I’m sure we’ll find something for you to wear.”

Anne had an interview with the Avery Foundation in Charlotte on Saturday. It was meant to be a chance for Anne to meet the panel judging the scholarship competition as well as to mingle with the other finalists. Matthew had offered to make the 5-hour round-trip drive with her, he and Marilla agreeing that Anne shouldn’t make the drive in the dark.

But if Diana wanted to come to Charlotte with her, they could spend the end of their last spring break together. And surely Aunt Jo would be happy to host them. “Diana Barry,” Anne grinned. “I think that’s the best idea you’ve ever had.”

***

Anne had regaled Matthew and Marilla with her disappointments dress shopping later that evening over dinner. Marilla offered to help pay for the dress again, but Anne turned her down. While Marilla was still feeling sympathetic, Anne proposed the idea of going to Charlotte with Diana.

“It’s alright with me,” Marilla said, “but I want to make sure Josephine Barry is okay with it first.”

Aunt Jo was very excited at the prospect of Anne and Diana coming to visit, and it was decided that they would leave Friday morning so they could spend two nights in Charlotte rather than just one.

Anne was packing her bag Thursday afternoon in preparation for her trip the next day when someone knocked on her open door. She turned to find Matthew standing there.

“Oh, hi Matthew.”

“I have something for you,” he said shyly.

Before Anne could ask what it was, Matthew held out a black garment bag. Anne recognized the logo emblazoned on it in white, it was from Lawson’s Best.

“Matthew...”

“I went by Mrs. Lawson’s store and she showed me the dress. It’s meant to be yours, Anne.” He stepped into her room and laid the garment bag out on the bed. “You deserve it, Anne-girl. I’m so proud of you.” Matthew leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“Thank you, Matthew. I-I’m...” Anne looked up at him, his kind eyes smiling. “Speechless.”

“I’d like to see it on you, if you have time to try it on before you leave.”

Anne shooed him out of the room with a chorus of yeses so she could change. The dress was just as beautiful as she had remembered it.

Matthew wasn’t in the hallway when she opened the door to her room, but she could hear the quiet murmur voices downstairs. Anne followed the sound, the tulle of her dress a whisper against the old hardwood.

She rounded the corner into the kitchen, finding Marilla and Matthew, the former kneading biscuit dough on the counter, the former sitting at the table.

“Well,” Marilla said, “that’s a ball gown if I’ve ever seen one. You’ll have to turn sideways to get through the door.”

Anne, intimately familiar with Marilla’s hyperbolizing, just smiled. “It’s a dream come true. Thank you, Matthew.” She leaned down to hug him, Matthew pressing a kiss to her cheek.

“I hope you two are satisfied,” Marilla said, fighting a smile. “I don’t want you strutting around here, vain as a peacock, so now you go back upstairs and change.”

Anne floated up the stairs, walking on air.

***

The drive to Aunt Jo’s house took just over two and half hours, Anne and Diana making good time due to the lack of road traffic. They stopped about halfway to Charlotte for snacks, once they were well out of sight from their parents and guardians.

Anne was hyped up on coffee and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups by the time they pulled up to Josephine Barry’s historic plantation-style mansion; all red brick and white columns, cherry trees in full bloom. Anne couldn’t help the grin spreading across her face.

Aunt Jo stepped out of the front door and into the spring sunshine, white hair pulled back into a low chignon. She lifted an arm to wave at them as Diana coasted up the drive. Once the car was parked, Anne pushed the door open and hurried up the front walk to greet Aunt Jo.

“Anne Shirley,” she said squeezing Anne tightly. Aunt Jo pulled back, her eyes roving over Anne. “You are a sight for sore eyes.”

“Hi, Aunt Jo.”

Diana came up on Anne’s left, the red head stepping out of the way so Diana could greet her aunt. They hugged, Aunt Jo cooing over the two of them.

“Get your things and come on in, girls, we have a lot on the agenda today.” Anne and Diana bounded down to the car to grab their bags before heading inside. “The guest room is ready for you, I’ll be on the porch while you get settled,” Aunt Jo said, shooing them towards the stairs.

Aunt Jo’s estate had more than enough rooms for Anne and Diana to stay in, but since the first time Anne had visited Aunt Jo, they had shared a guest suite; staying up late into the night giggling, being too giddy to fall asleep despite how comfortable the plush king-sized bed was.

“You should hang up your outfit for tomorrow,” Diana said, pulling her toiletries case out of her bag and carrying it to the en suite. “You don’t want it to be wrinkled.”

Anne took the pencil skirt and cream-colored sweater from her bag, hanging it up in the oak armoire in the corner of the room. The skirt was made of a stretchy material, so it was a little creased from being folded up in her duffel bag all morning, but it would be fine by her interview the next day.

“C’mon,” Diana said tugging Anne out of the room and towards the stairs, “there’s a good chance Aunt Jo made sweet tea.”

Aunt Jo’s sweet tea was the best sweet tea Anne had ever tasted, not that she’d tell Marilla that; Anne’s mouth was watering just at the thought. The two girls hurried down the stairs and onto to the screened-in back porch to find not only Aunt Jo sipping from a tall glass of sweet tea, but a plate piled high with pastries as well.

“Hope you girls are hungry, I sent Angie,” Aunt Jo’s part-time caretaker, “out to Villani’s and she got a little bit of everything.”

“Thank you, Aunt Jo,” Anne and Diana chimed in unison, settling down for tea and macarons and cannoli.

“I’d like to propose a toast,” Aunt Jo said, lifting her glass of tea up once Anne and Diana had tucked in. “To Anne Shirley, for making it to finals of the Avery, and as far as I’m concerned, this year’s winner.”

Anne felt her cheeks tinge pink with the praise. The three of them clinked their glasses together, “thanks, Aunt Jo, but I haven’t won yet.”

“ _Yet_ , she says,” Aunt Jo turns to grin at Diana. “We both know it’s true. I doubt there’s anyone who deserves it more than you.”

Anne sighed, licking a bit of ricotta off her thumb. “I don’t know how true that is, Gilbert—Oh!” she exclaimed.

“Are you alright?” Aunt Jo asked.

“Yes, sorry,” Anne replied, flustered. She pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Our episode. Of _The Road to the Avery_ —” Anne unlocked her phone and furiously started swiping and typing. After a few moments she found the video. The thumbnail was small and a little indiscernible on her phone screen, but it looked like it was a still from that first night of filming, Anne and Gilbert smiling at each other in the kitchen of Green Gables.

“Is it up?” Diana asked. Anne nodded mutely, staring down at her phone, thumb hovering over the video. Diana stood and came around the table, standing behind Anne. “Well?” Anne looked up at her. “Are you going to play it?”

Anne glanced over at Aunt Jo who looked just as expectant as her niece. “I can wait—”

“Anne Shirley,” Diana sighed resignedly, reaching over Anne’s shoulder and tapping on the video. Then she took the phone out of Anne’s hand and propped it up against the pitcher of sweet tea so that the three of them could see the screen.

Ms. Evans, in an email to all the finalists, had given them the video release schedule about a month ago. The fifteen of them were split into five groups of three for the first five episodes. They would film some more at the interview tomorrow; which Anne was sort of dreading.

Not as much as she was dreading her and Gilbert’s episode, of course.

The video started with an unfamiliar face, a blonde boy named Lewis from Durham who was headed to Julliard in the fall. Anne wasn’t really paying attention to Lewis’ introduction, foot tapping nervously against the wooden planks of the porch. After a few minutes, the video cut to an establishing shot of Green Gables, Anne’s breath catching in her throat.

To be entirely honest, Anne sort of blacked out the video in her mind, her brain reeling in panic and anxiety as the screen flashed with images of Anne and Gilbert and Avonlea.

At the end of the video, Diana reached out and locked Anne’s phone and handed it back to her. “Was it—” she started.

“I didn’t know you were dating Gilbert,” Aunt Jo said. Anne looked over at her, heart threatening to beat out of her chest. “I always knew he was sweet on you.”

Anne felt like she could finally breathe again, sighing heavily. “Why does everyone say that?” she groaned.

“Because it’s true,” Diana rolled her eyes and took a bite out of a light pink macaron.

“No it’s not.” Anne turned to Aunt Jo. “We’re not actually dating. There was a, uh, miscommunication,” she trailed off. Josephine Barry was all too familiar with Anne’s antics by now.

Aunt Jo took a long sip from her tea. “Well, I can’t say I’m surprised. Diana, dear, will you pass me a cannoli?”

***

The next morning, Anne woke up before her alarm, soft morning light filtering in through the white curtains, Diana breathing deeply beside her. The two of them had explored Charlotte the day before, meeting Aunt Jo for dinner at a restaurant downtown. Diana had done her research, and she had a list of thrift stores and consignment shops for them to check out.

It had been a fun day, and Anne tried not to think about how few of these days the two of them had left.

Anne’s phone started chiming with her alarm. She reached over and turned it off, before slipping out of bed.

Diana groaned and rolled over, blinking over at Anne blearily. “Go back to sleep,” Anne said.

“No, no,” Diana yawned. “I said I would do your hair.” She had promised to curl Anne’s hair yesterday, but Diana could sleep for a little while longer. Diana sat up and stretched, her dark hair falling in curls over her shoulder. “I’ll go downstairs and make coffee while you start getting ready.”

“Thank you.”

Anne padded into the en suite, turning the shower on and stepping in once the water had heated up. She showered mostly to wake herself up, feeling a little groggy from a night of fitful sleep. Once she was wrapped up in a plush robe Aunt Jo kept in the bathroom, Anne opened up the door to the bathroom, letting the steam filter out.

Diana was perched on the bed, drinking from her mug as she scrolled through her phone. She looked up at Anne. “Hair first?”

Anne nodded and sat at the vanity. Diana handed Anne her coffee and got to work.

In the end, Anne’s hair was brushed out into loose waves, Diana had pinned some of it back to keep it out of her face. Diana also insisted on doing Anne’s makeup as well, not that she did very much, mostly concealing the dark circles under her eyes. When Diana had deemed her acceptable, Anne was allowed to change into her interview clothes.

“I am not excited to wear heels all day,” Anne sighed, stepping into the sensible black pumps Anne only ever wore to speech competitions. With the shoes, she was finally eye-to-eye with Diana.

“You should know,” Diana said, smiling, “That I wholeheartedly believe that you deserve the Avery, but now you really look the part.”

Anne turned to look at herself in the mirror, but she couldn’t help but believe that Diana was right. “You ready?” her best friend asked, looking over Anne’s shoulder and meeting her eye in the mirror.

“Yeah, I’m ready.”

They ate a quick breakfast with Aunt Jo, the Barry matriarch sending Anne off with a tight hug and a few whispered words of encouragement.

Diana drove Anne downtown to the Avery Foundation’s offices, pulling into a loading zone outside of the intimidating red brick building. “I’ll let you know if we’re running long,” Anne said, not looking at Diana.

“You’re going to be amazing, Anne.”

Anne turned toward her best friend, blowing out a heavy breath. “Thank you, Diana.”

Diana opened her mouth to respond, but her response died on her tongue as something caught her eye out the window behind Anne. “Gilbert’s here,” she responded, tone carefully restrained.

Anne followed her gaze to see Gilbert Blythe, hands tucked into the pockets of his jacket, walking up the street towards the foundation’s offices. “I should go,” Anne said, watching Gilbert. “I’ll see you later.” She climbed out of the car and shut the door behind her. “Gilbert!” she called out.

Gilbert paused, halfway up the steps to the building, and turned. Anne met him on the stairs.

Anne realized that this was the first she had seen of Gilbert, in person, since he had pulled her out of the pond on Diana’s birthday. The anger and confusion she had expected to feel at seeing him was just a vague sense of discontent. “Hi, Carrots.”

She looked from him to the door and then down at Gilbert’s hand. After a moment, Anne took Gilbert’s hand, twisting their fingers together. “Ready?”

Gilbert just nodded and followed Anne up and into the building. A receptionist pointed them towards an elevator after they checked in, Gilbert holding Anne’s hand all the while. “Did you watch the video?” Gilbert asked once the doors of the elevator slid shut.

“Yeah, it was, uh, well done?” Anne’s voice trailed up at the end like it was a question.

“My dad enjoyed it, despite all the made-up parts.” Gilbert lifted a hand as if he was going to scrub it through his hair, but he paused and then dropped it. Anne looked over and saw that Gilbert’s hair, which was normally a boyish mess, was neatly parted and slicked down.

“You look nice,” she said, the words falling unbidden out of her mouth.

Gilbert glanced down at her, surprise evident in his expression. “Thanks, Carrots.” The elevator lurched to a stop and the doors slid open, Anne and Gilbert still just looking at one another.

Voices in the lobby snapped Anne out of her thoughts, “C’mon,” she said, voice low, tugging Gilbert out of the elevator and into the lion’s den.

Gilbert dropped her hand as they signed in and affixed sticky _Hi, My Name is..._ stickers to themselves. Anne found herself chatting to a few of the other finalists, recognizing a few from their episodes.

“Oh, you’re part of the _couple_ ,” a brunette with pinched features said, after joining the conversation, her tone deceptively light.

Anne didn’t let her discomfort at that comment, “Anne Shirley,” she said, hand outstretched.

The girl looked down at Anne’s hand and then up at her face, studying Anne impassively. After a pregnant pause, she took Anne’s hand. “Jen Pringle.” Jen dropped Anne’s hand, gaze moving over Anne’s shoulder. Anne turned to follow her gaze, almost colliding with Gilbert.

Gilbert laughed and deftly avoided Anne’s flailing limbs. “It’s just me,” Gilbert held out a paper cup. “I grabbed you a coffee.”

“Thanks, Gil.” Anne took the proffered cup, lifting it to her mouth and took a sip. One cream, two sugars, just the way she liked it. Anne wondered when Gilbert had learned her coffee order.

“Hi, I’m Gilbert,” he said, reaching around Anne to shake hands with the little group that had gathered.

After he had introduced himself, Gilbert slipped his free hand against the small of Anne’s back, his hand a warm weight; centering her. He looked down at her, asking _is this okay?_ with an inconspicuous raise of his dark eyebrows. Anne nodded and Gilbert smiled, turning his attention back to the other finalists.

She watched him talk, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, pulling Anne closer into his side as he laughed at something one of the other finalists said. It was surprisingly _nice_.

Anne wondered when she had not only gotten used to Gilbert being at her side, but actually started to _enjoy_ it.

“Welcome finalists,” an unfamiliar voice near the front of the room said, the sound rising above the din. Anne turned to see a short woman of indeterminate age, her hair pulled back into a tight bun, smiling wanly at them. “We’re about to get started, please follow me.”  
  


They were shuffled into a conference room, Gilbert pulling out Anne’s seat before she could sit. Anne wanted to make a fuss, but she knew by Gilbert’s smug little smile, that he was just putting on a show.

There were four men in suits sitting at the opposite end of the conference table, Anne assumed they were the trustees of the Avery Foundation, but she also knew that there were _five_ trustees—

The woman who had ushered them into the conference room entered as the last of the finalists settled into their seats. She joined the men at the head of the table and Anne realized all at once that she must be Katherine Brooke, the first ever recipient of the Avery, a vice chancellor at Duke, and the first ever female Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Avery Foundation. It was Ms. Brooke who, a few years ago, created the Gold Ribbon scholarship, which was widely assumed to be the second place award to the Avery, but it was, in fact, more of an essay-writing contest than anything. Anne was sure that if she didn’t win the Avery, that she would at least be on the short list for the Gold Ribbon.

Unrepiningly, Anne was kind of starstruck with Ms. Brooke, though, she had never pictured Katherine Brooke to be the severe looking woman in front of her.

Now that she was thinking about it, she kind of reminded Anne of Marilla.

“Good morning, my name is Katherine Brooke, and welcome to the Avery Foundation.”

Ms. Brooke introduced the rest of the Board and explained the day’s itinerary, all without a single change in her expression.

Anne studied the paper itinerary passed around, her solo interview wasn’t until after lunch, but right before Gilbert’s.

“Well that’s no fair,” Gilbert said, voice low. “I have to follow you.”

Anne glanced at him, finding Gilbert smirking. Anne narrowed her eyes and Gilbert only blinked at her innocently. “Shut up.”

Gilbert leaned away, smiling.

When they weren’t in their solo interviews with the Board, the finalists were split into groups of five for a series of team icebreakers that Ms. Evans and _The_ _Road to the Avery_ crew would be filming.

Anne read through the groups, a frown tugging at the corner of her mouth. She and Gilbert were in different groups, a fact she found unsettling for some reason. Anne did recognize two other names in her group, Lewis Allen, the other finalist in their episode, and Jen Pringle, the sour-faced girl from the lobby.

Ms. Brooke had everyone split into their groups, Anne reluctantly standing and glancing over at where her group members were congregating. She looked over at Gilbert. “I guess I’ll see you later?”

“Good luck, Carrots,” he whispered, pressing a chaste kiss to Anne’s temple.

Before Anne could do, or say, anything, Gilbert walked away.

***

Anne hated icebreakers; she had learned that much from her morning at the Avery.

Well, maybe hate was too strong of a word. But, she greatly, greatly disliked them. Especially when Jen Pringle was involved.

Jen seemed to have an issue with Anne, her heavy, apathetic gaze always finding Anne when she was most insecure. Icebreakers were bad enough, but Jen Pringle made them worse.

The rest of Anne’s group members were fine, and she got on famously with Lewis. Apparently, she did retain a little bit of information about him from his half of their episode, and they chatted cheerfully between activities.

The Foundation provided lunch, a simple buffet of cold cut sandwiches and salad fixings, and Anne invited Lewis to join her and Gilbert for lunch. Thankfully, the two boys got along as well, bonding over an unexpected shared love of classic cars.

“My dad and I rebuilt his old ’80 Impala together a few months ago,” Lewis said before taking a sip of water. “We sold it to a collector up in Richmond to go towards my college fund.” Lewis’ expression turned slightly somber. “He loved that car, but he was willing to give it up for my dream.”

“Julliard, right?” Gilbert asked.

“That’s right, I got into the Drama program.”

“Very impressive,” Gilbert said with an encouraging smile. Anne watched as he carefully pulled a pickle off of his sandwich and put it into a pile near the edge of his plate. “You want my pickles?” he asked Anne, holding the plate toward her.

Anne loved pickles. “Sure,” she said, tone light, as she took the little slices off of Gilbert’s plate, adding them to her sandwich. “Thanks.”

First the coffee, and now pickles? When had Gilbert learned so much about her?

And why did Anne feel like she knew nothing about Gilbert in return?

“You two are so cute,” Lewis said, grinning. “My mom was practically cooing over you guys.”

“You hear that, Carrots? We’ve got _fans_.”

Anne just huffed and rolled her eyes, Gilbert elbowing her good-naturedly. “We do not.”

“You do too,” Lewis said, pulling out his phone. He quickly pulled up their episode, scrolling down to the comments. He let Anne take his phone in order to read some of them.

They were generally very nice, and most of them mentioned her or Gilbert in some way. It was strange, the way people, veritable strangers, reacted to their relationship. Anne had to stop scrolling to keep her head on straight, even the sweet comments making her head spin.

Before Anne could worry on it any longer, Ms. Evans came up to the three of them. “Anne, Gilbert, so good to see you. And you too, Lewis.”

“Hi Ms. Evans,” Anne said, looking up at her. “How are you?”

“Fabulous, fabulous. I was wondering if I could steal you two away for a little bit of filming?”

“Oh, well,” Anne looked over at the clock on the wall. She had just over half an hour before her interview with the board. “Will it take long? I have my solo interview at one.”

“Yes, yes, of course.”

Anne glanced at Gilbert who nodded in assent. “Then sure. Just give us a moment.”

Anne and Gilbert bade Lewis goodbye, feeling bad that they were leaving him alone, but he easily joined the conversation with the group next to them with ease. Gilbert took Anne’s plate and threw it away for her while she was distracted by Lewis’ skills in friendship.

“I’m not an invalid, you know,” she said to him, voice low, as they followed Ms. Evans through a labyrinth of hallways.

“I know, but I gotta play the part of the good southern gentleman.” He easily slipped his hand in hers, twisting their fingers together. Anne felt herself deflate slightly at the contact to her complete disgust. “The Board is always watching.”

“Fine,” Anne huffed. She hated that book and Gilbert knew it.

Ms. Evans opened a door for the two of them to walk through. It seemed as if the crew had transformed a private office into a studio of sorts, the cameras and lights already set up. “You two have a seat,” she pointed to the loveseat positioned in front of a white sheet, checking the angle on one of the cameras. 

Anne settled next to Gilbert, still holding his hand somehow. “So,” Anne started without a destination. “I bought got a dress. For prom.”

“Finally,” Gilbert teased.

Anne rolled her eyes, but otherwise ignored Gilbert’s needling. “It’s light blue. I know you boys like to match your dates.”

“Does that mean I can wear my dad’s powder blue tux from his prom?”

“If you want.”

“Really?” Gilbert asked, eyes wide.

“Sure. I will refuse to take a single photo and to appear on camera with you,” Anne shrugged nonchalantly. “But if you want to embarrass yourself, go right ahead.”

Gilbert laughed heartily at that, Anne struggling to keep her features schooled into impassivity. After a few moments, her façade cracked, a smile tugging at her mouth.

“Don’t worry about it, Carrots. My dad didn’t wear a powder blue tux to prom.”

“Did he go with Marilla?” Anne found herself asking.

Gilbert paused, “I guess so, yeah. I haven’t seen any pictures, but I’m pretty sure they were still dating.”

“I wonder if Marilla has photos anywhere...” Anne trailed off, thinking about the boxes stacked up in the attic, the ones she had always itched to open.

“Anyways,” Gilbert said, voice kept carefully neutral. “Frank was asking me about splitting the price of a limo, but that seems a little too ridiculous, don’t you agree?”

“What?”

“A limousine?” Gilbert supplied; a dark eyebrow cocked. “Like a long—”

“I know what a limousine is, Gilbert, Christ. You don’t have to _remediate_ me—"

“Then what were you asking about?” Gilbert cut her off before Anne could snipe at him any longer.

“Why is Frank Wright asking you to split the cost of a limo with him?”

“Because he’s Diana’s date?” Gilbert blinked at Anne in confusion. When she didn’t respond, verbally, that is, Anne was sure her facial expression was speaking _volumes_ , Gilbert said. “Didn’t she tell you?”

“Does it look like she told me?” Anne said, carefully trying to keep her voice neutral, rising dangerously at the end of her question. “You mean to tell me that Frank Wright, the human equivalent of a _phonebook_ ,” Gilbert snorted out a laugh. “Asked Diana Barry, my best friend and the most incredible young woman to walk the face of this planet, to prom and she said _yes_?”

“Yes?”

Anne sighed, she wanted to slump down in her seat, to throw a fit, to call Diana right now and give her best friend a piece of her mind—

“Okay, we’re ready.”

Ms. Evans asked them a few leading questions about the events of the morning, but Anne barely remembered her answers. Gilbert was doing most of the heavy lifting in the interview, smiling and joking jovially as he always was in front of the cameras.

“Meeting all the other finalists at last had been great,” Anne said, her brain operating on autopilot. Anne couldn’t believe that Diana was going to prom with Frank Wright and _didn’t tell her about it_. “It’s a shame we’re competing against one another, I think we all deserve the money.”

“We’re having a lot of fun getting to know each other,” Gilbert chimed in. “Especially because they split us up for the day.”

“We’d win all the icebreakers,” Anne said turning to grin up at Gilbert. He instantly smiled back. “It’s not fair to everyone else.”

Ms. Evans was delighted by their footage, sending the two of them off a few minutes before Anne’s interview. As they bade her goodbye and wandered into the hall, Anne could feel herself starting to panic.

In an attempt to distract herself, she said, “no but really, why did Diana say yes?”

Gilbert sighed; world weary. “I don’t know.”

“She’s so much better than him.”

“Okay,” Gilbert started. “The phonebook thing was funny, but you don’t have to be so senselessly mean to the guy, Anne. Frank Wright is an okay dude, try to cut him some slack.”

They had stopped in the hallway, “why should I?” she said, turning to face Gilbert. “He’s going to ruin my prom. Diana and I had a _plan_ —”

“And going with me fits into that plan?”

Anne felt her face color. “Well...” she trailed off.

“Of course it doesn’t,” Gilbert laughed humorlessly, scrubbing his face with both hands. “God, maybe Diana was right. You _do_ want us to get found out.” Gilbert had dropped his voice, well aware that everyone in this building at the moment thought that they were dating.

Anne was starting to get angry now, attacked by Gilbert’s careless words. She knew she could fire back just as hard. “Well, I ruined your prom too. So I guess we’re even.”

“What the hell are you talking about, Anne?”

“Josie Pye—”

“Would you please, please, _please_ , stop bringing her up?” Gilbert’s voice rose. “Seriously Anne, there’s nothing going on between us—”

Anne, despite Gilbert’s pronouncements, Anne could hear footsteps approaching. She looked over at Gilbert, red faced and furious, and she knew that whoever walked around that corner and found them would blow their cover. One look at Anne and Gilbert, obviously ready to jump at each other’s throats, would _ruin_ them.

It was a shame, too, the end was so close now. She could practically taste it.

So Anne did the only thing she could think of to keep up the ruse for just a while longer, and took Gilbert Blythe by the cheeks, pulled him towards her, and slotted their lips together in a searing, time-stopping kiss.

Gilbert, who was mid rant, was surprised by the kiss, but he didn’t push her away, didn’t slip out of Anne’s hold and stomp down the hallway like she expected. In fact, Gilbert slipped his arms around her middle, pulling Anne closer, tipping her head back.

Anne, a novice to kissing, wasn’t quite sure what he was doing and why it felt so good, but she opened her mouth in surprise, Gilbert taking that as an invitation to—

“What’s this?” someone said. Anne and Gilbert spring away from each other like oil kicking up in a hot pan.

It was Jen Pringle, impassive as always, but somehow still extremely judgmental. Anne was still catching her breath (how did people breathe and kiss at the same time?) as she pulled her phone out of her pocket to check the time. She still had a few minutes before her interview.

“My interview. I have to go,” she said, stepping out of the circle of Gilbert's arms and marching away.

In the time it took to walk from the back offices to the conference room, Anne steadied her breathing and gathered her thoughts. She paused before she got to the open door, giving herself one last moment to collect herself before striding into the room.

“Hello,” Anne said, corners of her mouth turning up in a smile. She crossed the room to where the Board of Trustees was sitting, hand outstretched for them to shake. “I’m Anne Shirley. It’s lovely to meet you all.” The Trustees introduced themselves in turn, though, thankfully they were also wearing nametags.

“Ms. Shirley,” Ms. Brooke said, glancing up at her through her circular frames. “Please sit.” She gestured to an open seat cross the short side of the table from them. Anne walked over to the chair, sitting down, keeping her back ramrod straight. Marilla would be proud. “How are you?”

“Great, it’s amazing to be here.”

Ms. Brooke nodded; eyes cast down to the folder in front of her. “Why don’t you tell us a little about yourself, Ms. Shirley?”

Anne gave the Board the abbreviated version of her personal statement she submitted with her application, from her time in the foster care system, to meeting Matthew and Marilla, and staying in Avonlea. She gave a brief description of her extracurricular activities, the Board nodding along and taking notes.

“And where will you be attending school next year?” Dr. Huang asked.

“Brown University, sir. I haven’t picked a major yet.”

“How far away is Brown from Harvard?” Mr. Daniels asked. Anne turned to him, but couldn’t quite read his expression, the bottom half of his face obscured by a thick, salt and pepper beard

“Why is that important?”

“Isn’t it where your boyfriend is going next year?” Mr. Daniels countered.

Anne steadied her breathing, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from screaming. After a moment she said, “yes. But I don’t understand why you are taking the time out of my interview to ask me a question that could be answered with a simple Google search, Mr. Daniels.”

“I think it’s a perfectly reasonable question.”

“Is it?” Anne heard herself ask. She desperately wished that she could just shut up and let it go, but once the train had left the station, there was no going back. “Because I’d bet good money that many of the other finalists are also in romantic relationships, Mr. Daniels, but I doubt you wasted time in their interviews to ask them about it. In fact, I bet you won’t even as Mr. Blythe about our relationship.”

Anne turned her gaze from Mr. Daniels, looking at Dr. Huang on his left and then to Mr. King next to him. All three men had barely contained looks of amusement on their faces, Anne could feel the smugness radiating off of them.

“I am just as qualified for this scholarship as anyone, Mr. Daniels. My relationship status has no bearing on that. If you would like to ask about my extracurricular activities, I could tell you about how I founded a school club, or that I have won three consecutive state Speech competitions. I also tutor in my free time, English, Algebra, and Biology, in case you were wondering. Or you could ask about my academics, and I could tell you that I have a 4.0 GPA and I got a 1580 on my SATs and a 35 on my ACT.

“But you don’t need to ask me those questions,” Anne said sitting up straighter and drawing her shoulder blades together. “Because I know that it’s in my application. This was your chance to get to know me as a _person_ , rather than a list of accomplishments on a sheet of paper. Do you know what your website says about this scholarship, Mr. Daniels?” She didn’t give the man time to respond, reciting the description from memory. “ _The Avery Foundation Scholarship is awarded every year to one of North Carolina’s brightest high school graduates. The awardee must not only be academically gifted and civic-minded, but resilient in the face of adversity as well_.”

Anne watched as a blank expression crossed Mr. Daniels’ face. She tried not to feel too vindicated, high on the rush. “I’d like to say that I faced more hardship in my life than being in a long-distance relationship. Does that answer your question, Mr. Daniels?”

“Mr. Daniels?” Ms. Brooke asked when he didn’t respond. Anne’s head swung in her direction, completely forgetting that she was there. For a moment, Anne was horrified. Yes, telling Mr. Daniels off had felt good, but now that the tension had broken, she just felt embarrassed by her outburst. Anne opened her mouth to respond, the apology dying on her tongue as Ms. Brooke asked, “do you have any follow up questions for Ms. Shirley that pertain to the scholarship?” a small, secretive smile playing on her lips.

Anne exhaled, meeting Ms. Brooke’s eye as Mr. Daniel’s croaked out a “no, Ms. Brooke.”

“Thank you, Mr. Daniels. Now Ms. Shirley, could you please tell me about the Avonlea Literary Society?”

***

Anne walked out of the conference room twenty-two minutes later, still feeling unsure about the whole thing. Yes, Ms. Brooke had seemed almost pleased with Anne’s dressing down of Mr. Daniels, Anne couldn’t help but think she had made more enemies than friends.

It didn’t matter, really. It was obvious that she only reason Anne had made it this far was because she was dating Gilbert. The Foundation thought it would make for good headlines, and so they gave Anne a pity ticket to the finals.

At the end of the day, Anne would be glad that at least she stood up for herself, and didn’t let a bully like Mr. Daniels walk all over her.

It was a shame about the money, though. $25,000 a year would go a long way.

Maybe she still had a chance at winning the Gold Ribbon, $10,000 a year wasn’t nothing.

“Hey, Carrots,” Gilbert said, voice carefully guarded. The other finalists were changing rooms between activities, but Gilbert had his interview next. “How did it go?”

Anne shrugged, trying to keep the disappointment off her face. “It was fine.” Gilbert didn’t look like he believed her, but before he could be late, Anne said, “go on, you’ll be great,” and pushed him gently towards the door.

Gilbert didn’t budge, his expression clouded. He looked over at the door and then back at Anne, not meeting her eye. “What?” She asked. “Are you nervous?”

He sighed and nodded, “I guess, yeah. It’s a lot of money, I don’t want to mess it up—”

“Look, Gil.” She took him by the shoulders, dipping her head to meet his eye. “You are going to be amazing. But you have to actually go in there and do it.”

Gilbert relaxed, tension draining from his shoulders. “Thanks, Carrots.” He turned and walked over to the open door, sparing one last look at her before striding into the conference room.

Anne stood in the lobby for a few moments after the big oak door clicked shut, her emotions a maelstrom in her chest.

“Anne?” she heard Lewis ask. “You coming?”

“Yeah,” Anne said and followed Lewis into one of the many offices for a few more hours of ice breakers.

She didn’t see Gilbert again until the end of the day. Ms. Brooke had called them all back into the conference room, Gilbert saving her and Lewis seats next to him. “How was your interview?” she asked him as she sat down.

“Good, though, they seemed a little,” he paused, searching for the right word. “Nervous? Were they like that with you?”

“No,” Anne sighed. “Not at all.”

Before Gilbert could ask any more questions, Ms. Brooke cleared her throat loudly; the room falling into silence. “Thank you all for coming today, we had a wonderful time getting to know all of you,” Ms. Brooke found Anne’s gaze, smiling reassuringly at her. Anne still couldn’t help but feel unsettled at the thought of her interview. “We will be announcing the winners of the Avery and the Gold Ribbon on May 2nd. There will be a dinner before the awards are announced, in which you and your family are invited to attend.

“I think I speak for the whole Board,” Ms. Brooke continued on, “when I say that this is one of the most competitive years yet. So thank you for making this so difficult for us.”

Ms. Evans then came in and asked for a few people to stay behind for more interviews, but the rest of the finalists were free to go.

“Let me get your number,” Anne said to Lewis as they began to filter out of the room, stopping in the lobby. “We should keep in touch.”

“Absolutely,” Lewis grinned widely. He took his phone from his pocket, unlocked it, and handed it over to Anne. “You too, Gilbert.”

They passed the three phones around between them, until everyone had everyone’s number. “I should head out,” Lewis said, once he had his phone back. “My parents’ are almost here.”

“It was so good to meet you,” Anne hugged him quickly. “We’ll see you at the dinner?”

“Of course. Bye, Anne. Bye, Gilbert!” Lewis called as he headed for the slowly closing elevator, slipping inside just at the last moment.

With that, it was just Anne and Gilbert left in the lobby. “So what did you do to the Board that got them all flustered?” he asked, walking over to the elevator and pressing the down button.

“Why do you think I was the one who did something wrong?”

Gilbert laughed, “I didn’t say that you did something wrong, but you obviously did _something_.”

Anne watched the LED screen flash as the elevator descended down towards the lobby. Once the numbers started counting up again, she said, “Mr. Daniels kept asking about our relationship and I may or may not have chewed him out for it.”

Anne looked up to see Gilbert barely containing his amusement, lips pressed together, and eyes closed. She took a moment to study his face, the fine slope of his nose and the brush of his dark lashes against his skin. From this distance, Anne could almost make out a smattering of freckles—

“Anne Shirley,” Gilbert said fondly, eyes sliding open to find hers. “How do you manage to get yourself into these situations?”

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. “I think I might have been a terrible person in my past life. That’s the only explanation I can think of.”

Gilbert laughed again, grin dawning across his face, eyes crinkled at the edges.

Anne couldn’t have stopped looking at him if she tried. 

***

Anne had forgotten all about Frank Wright until she Diana came to pick her up after her day at the Avery Foundation and asked, “how did it go?”

“Are you going to prom with Frank Wright?”

Diana’s face flushed pink and turned her attention to the road. “What?”

“So it’s true?” Anne buckled her seat belt and huffed out a breath. “I thought Gilbert was trying to rile me up.”

“Gilbert Blythe doesn’t have to _try_ to rile you up.”

“Shut up,” Anne said. “That’s not the point. Why are you going to prom with _Frank Wright_?”

“Don’t say his name like that.” They pulled up to a red light, and Diana looked over at her, expression guarded. “I’m sorry I don’t have a fake boyfriend to take me to prom.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Anne replied, a little too defensively. After a moment, she said, “I didn’t know you liked him, is all.”

Diana sighed, the light finally turning green. “I don’t. I mean, I don’t dislike him. It’s not like were dating—” She took a moment to think. “He’s nice and cute and he sits next to me in Trig and helps me with the in-class assignments—”

“Diana Barry,” Anne cut her off. “I thought _I_ was the only person who helped you with Trigonometry.”

The tension in the car finally broke, Diana snorting out a laugh. “He asked me on Friday, I just didn’t know how to tell you.”

“I didn’t like finding out from Gilbert,” Anne said at last. “You should have told me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry for calling Frank the _human equivalent of a_ _phonebook_.”

“You _didn’t_ call him that,” Diana said, puzzled.

“I may have called him that to Gilbert.”

Diana laughed again “We’ll have the perfect prom we always wanted; I promise. Frank won’t get in the way of that.” After a moment, she said, “Anyways, how was your interview?”

Anne groaned.

***

Prom approached faster after than Anne expected, the weeks following spring break rushing past in a blur of midterms and fake dates and not worrying about the Avery.

Not that Anne could push the thought of the scholarship from her mind indefinitely, not with Ms. Evans incessant reminder emails that Anne found in her inbox every morning in the week leading up to prom.

“I’m losing my mind, Gilbert,” Anne groaned from the couch in the living room at Green Gables where she was spread out, phone held above her face.

Gilbert, who was sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table, huffed out a laugh. “Shouldn’t you be more worried about our Calc exam tomorrow than Ms. Evans’ emails?” he asked, head bowed over the table as he wrote something down.

“I’m taking a break,” Anne replied locking her phone and dropping it on her chest before rolling on to her side to watch Gilbert as he worked.

He was looking back and forth between their practice exam and his calculator, copying a number down. Gilbert checked over his work before putting a box around his answer and moving on to the next question.

Anne had started to notice things about Gilbert more since their day at the Avery Foundation. Like the way fidgeted with his pencil by bouncing it against the back of his thumb. Or how he always ate the crusts of his sandwich first, saving the best parts for last. Or the way he glowed with pride when he solved a question, just for a moment, before moving on to the next one.

“Do I have something on my face?” Gilbert asked, glancing up, gray eyes wide and curious. 

“No,” Anne slid off the couch and on to the floor, returning back to her study materials. “I was just thinking about what kind of masochist schedules an exam the day before prom?”

Gilbert chuckled and went back to his work. “The kind who doesn’t care about prom.”

When they were done with their practice exams, they switched packets and corrected each other with the given answer key. Gilbert’s was, unsurprisingly, perfect; he was always good with numbers. Anne watched Gilbert as he poured over her packet, his dark brows knitting together in concentration.

“That bad?” Anne asked as Gilbert flipped to the front page and looked up at her.

“No,” he said, grinning. “It’s perfect.”

“Really? Give me that” Anne leaned across the table to take the practice exam from Gilbert’s loose grip. She scanned the packet, not believing her eyes. “Huh.”

“Good job, Carrots,” Gilbert said, yawning and scrubbing a hand through his hair. “I should get going, it’s getting late.”

They began tidying up the living room, Marilla had brought them sweet tea and cookies not long ago, a plate of crumbs and an empty pitcher were the only survivors. Anne packed away her study materials into her backpack as Gilbert carried the dishes to the kitchen.

“Thanks for helping me study,” Anne said, after walking Gilbert to the door a few minutes later.

“No problem,” he said, glancing up at her as he bent to tie his shoes. He stood and tugged his jacket on. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Mhm,” Anne nodded.

Gilbert didn’t say anything, the silence heavy between them. Green Gables was quiet at this time of night, just the singing of crickets in the field outside. There was something in Gilbert’s gaze that Anne couldn’t quite name.

“Dive safe,” she said at last.

“I will.” Gilbert reached out and tucked a piece of hair that had slipped out of her braid behind Anne’s ear. “Goodnight, Carrots.” Gilbert pressed a kiss to Anne’s forehead.

Anne was frozen in place as Gilbert opened the door and walked out into the night. She remained there, in the foyer, as Gilbert’s truck roared to life on the other side of the door and drove away, gravel crunching under the wheels.

She didn’t leave the foyer until all she could hear was the sound of crickets.

***

“Anne,” Marilla said from the doorway to Anne’s bedroom, “Ms. Evans and the film crew are here.”

“We’ll just be a minute.”

Marilla paused in the threshold. “You two look beautiful,” she said, voice tight.

Anne turned and looked up at her guardian, her face eerily devoid of emotion. Anne grinned. “Thanks, Marilla.”

Marilla’s light eyes narrowed, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “Hurry up.”

Diana put the finishing touches on Anne’s hair. “You’re done. Dress time?”

“Yeah,” Anne studied herself in the mirror for a moment. “Thanks, Diana.”

“You’re welcome,” Diana hugged her around the shoulders. “C’mon. Let’s get dressed.”

They helped each other into their dresses, Anne taking in the dress Matthew had bought her in combination with her hair and makeup. It was more beautiful than she had ever imagined—

“Anne Shirley!” Marilla called up the stairs.

“Let’s go,” Diana said, laughing, tugging Anne out of her room.

_The Road to the Avery_ crew were setting up in the backyard, Ms. Evans directing the cameras to get the best shot. “Ms. Shirley!” she said when Anne found them. “You look stunning.”

“Thank you, Ms. Evans.”

“Gilbert is on his way, so you just hang tight until he gets here.”

Anne and Diana hung out on the back porch while they waited, Marilla eventually cajoling them into taking a few photos. There was the faint crunch of gravel from the front of the house, and Anne moved to meet either Gilbert or Frank at the door, but she was stopped by Matthew in the kitchen.

“You look beautiful, Anne-girl.”

“Thanks, Matthew,” she bounded over to him and pressed a kiss to his cheek. He _harrumphed_ good-naturedly before she disappeared down the hall.

Anne could hear the stairs up to the front porch creaking as she approached the door, swinging it open before Gilbert could knock; his arm up to do just that. He paused as the door opened before dropping his arm.

He wasn’t wearing a powder blue suit, thank God. Instead, Gilbert’s tux was a dark gray with black accents, and he he was light blue bowtie. Anne couldn’t deny that he looked handsome, his hair expertly coifed rather than his usual unruly mess.

“Hi, Carrots.”

“Hey. Come on in, Ms. Evans—” Anne’s voice died in her throat as she spotted an unfamiliar car in the driveway. “Whose car is that?”

Gilbert turned and looked at the car and then back at Anne. “My dad let me borrow his car.” Anne wasn’t very versed in classic cars, so she didn’t know what kind of car it was, but it was a boxy two-door in a deep forest green with two wide white stripes across the hood. “It’s a 1969 Camaro,” he said, like that would clear it up for her.

“Why is it green?”

Gilbert shrugged. "My dad likes green."

Anne was still staring at the car, she could tell that it was probably worth a lot of money, if Gilbert’s smiling was anything to go by. And Mr. Blythe was letting him use it to take Anne to prom—

“Anne?” Marilla’s voice came from somewhere down the hall.

“We’re coming!” Anne called back. “Come on.” Anne waved Gilbert into the house. “And you can keep your shoes on,” she said as he paused to take them off.

Gilbert nodded and followed Anne out the back door, greeting Ms. Evans and the crew warmly.

“Alright, let’s get this show on the road!” Ms. Evans said once Anne had joined them.

She had Anne and Gilbert fake seeing each other for the first time, Anne walking out of the house and down into the yard a few times until Ms. Evans was pleased. Then it was time for the corsage and the boutonniere.

Marilla had insisted on making them, refusing to let Anne see the flowers until now. They were made with white gerbera daisies and little bits of greenery, wrapped in light blue ribbon that matched Anne’s dress.

“Oh, Marilla—” Anne said as she saw the boutonniere for the first time. Marilla just smiled and pushed her over towards the cameras, uninterested in her praise.

“Careful,” Gilbert joked as Anne began trying to pin the flowers to his lapel. Anne considered poking him with the pin just to spite him, but the cameras were rolling, and she didn’t want to repeat this shot over and over again.

Ruby and Jane had already arrived, as well as theirs and Diana’s dates. The six of them were in the peach orchard somewhere taking photos and having a good time, their laughter floating over to where Gilbert and Anne were repeating their actions over and over again for the camera. Anne wanted to join them, to enjoy her prom to the fullest.

“Alright, Gilbert, now you.”

Putting the corsage on Anne’s wrist was much easier than pinning the boutonniere to Gilbert’s jacket. Anne could feel herself start to scowl as Gilbert simply slipped the corsage over Anne’s hand and onto her wrist.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I’m annoyed.”

“Because it’s easier to put on than the boutonniere?” Gilbert’s voice was full of amusement.

“Yes.” Anne frowned.

Gilbert chuckled before pressing a chaste kiss to her lips. Anne responded, despite this being only their third kiss, automatically, hand coming up to slide over Gilbert’s cheek. Gilbert hummed somewhere in the back of his throat, a sweet, unexpected sound.

It made Anne blush.

“That’s great, you two,” Ms. Evans said as they pulled apart, Gilbert blinking at her dazedly.

They got a few more shots and a quick interview before Anne was allowed to join her friends so they could get their own photos. The crew was still there, not recording, but still watching, so Anne and Gilbert had to keep up the charade. Not that it was all that hard to do, Anne was used to holding Gilbert’s hand.

At last, it was time for them to go, Jane had also been allowed to borrow her father’s car, a shiny, black SUV that she, Ruby, Diana, Frank, and the other two boys climbed into and drove off in, promising to meet Anne and Gilbert outside of the venue.

Before they left, Anne went inside of the house to say goodbye to Matthew and Marilla. She found them in the kitchen, Marilla at the stove fixing supper and Matthew setting the table.

“We’re about to head out,” she said, grabbing her purse from the counter.

“Have fun and be safe,” Marilla said, smiling softly at Anne.

“I will,” Anne replied, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek.

“Thanks for letting us film here,” Gilbert said from the door.

Matthew turned and looked at him, brows furrowed. “You’ll have her home by midnight,” he said.

“Oh shush, Matthew,” Marilla admonished, swatting at her brother with a tea towel. “You can stay out until one.”

“Thanks, Marilla.” Anne walked over to Matthew and gave him a kiss on the cheek as well. “Bye, Matthew.”

“Goodbye, Anne-girl.”

Anne and Gilbert went back outside to find that the crew had taken the cameras off their tripods so they could follow them to the front of the house where Gilbert’s car was parked. He led Anne over to the car, opening the door with a teasing smile for Anne to climb in.

Over the last few weeks, Gilbert had only successfully held a door open for her a few times, all of them happening on camera. Anne was always too anxious with the cameras around to be completely aware of everything Gilbert was doing, always scowling where the camera wasn’t looking.

“Nice car,” Anne commented, moving to slide into the passenger seat.

Before Anne could climb into the car, Gilbert caught her arm and tugged her back towards him, his other hand tilting her chin up. “Thanks, Carrots,” he said, flashing her a quick smile before kissing her.

The kiss lasted just a fraction of a second, Gilbert pulling back and grinning down at her. Anne mutely climbed into the car, Gilbert making sure her skirt was completely inside before closing the door.

Anne knew that she should be annoyed with Gilbert for playing it up for the camera, but she couldn’t help but think that the kisses were kind of _nice_. She didn’t want to dwell on the idea for long, seeing as Gilbert was sliding into the driver’s seat.

“Ready?” he asked, the car roaring to life. Anne nodded, and Gilbert shifted the car into gear. They stopped at the end of the driveway, Gilbert’s head sweeping back and forth to check for oncoming traffic.

Gilbert paused; his head turned towards her. “You look beautiful, Anne.”

Anne studied him for a moment. Why was Gilbert saying this now, when there weren’t any cameras around?

_Maybe that’s the point_ , Anne thought to herself.

“Thanks, Gil. You look quite handsome yourself.”

Gilbert smiled softly at her before he pulled out into the street.

***

It was another hour or so before Anne and Gilbert said their final goodbyes to _The Road to the Avery_ crew and were finally allowed to enjoy their prom. The Avonlea High Senior Prom 2020 was held at the Avonlea Dance Hall, just like every prom had been since the 60s. It took quite a lot of work to make the old train station, which was converted into a dance hall during WWII, look different every year with a shoestring budget and a few hundred of yards of fairy lights.

Anne had to give it to Josie Pye, chair of the Prom Committee, she did a great job this year, tucking the fairy lights behind bolts of white chiffon to give the whole room a dreamy, ethereal glow.

“C’mon,” Anne said, after taking a moment to appreciate the decor, “I see Diana.”

Gilbert, his hand in Anne’s, followed her to their table. They sat in the two empty seats, Anne immediately toeing off her heels. It had only been a few hours, and her feet were already killing her. “Ouch,” Gilbert said when Anne accidentally kicked him. “What are you—” he started, peeking under the table, laughing when he saw Anne’s bare feet.

“My feet hurt,” Anne said rolling her eyes.

“Do you want me to massage them?”

“Ew, no.” Gilbert’s face, inexplicably and imperceptibly, fell. “We’re about to eat. I’m fine,” Anne waved him off, flexing and pointing her feet to try and get feeling back in them.

After dinner was dancing, a DJ set up on the stage where a full band once used to sit. Anne, Diana, Jane, and Ruby were some of the first people to rush to the dancefloor, the four of them arm-in-arm. Gilbert had disappeared a little while ago, wanting to hang out with his own friends for a while.

In all of the weeks they had been dating, Anne seldom spent time with Gilbert’s friends. She didn’t have a problem with them, save for Josie Pye, but she didn’t get along with them either. Anne didn’t consider herself popular, and she had no interest in playing to schoolyard politics just because she was ‘dating’ Gilbert Blythe.

And anyways, it was good for them to have some time away from each other, that way when she and Gilbert ‘broke up’, it wouldn’t be quite so obvious.

Not that she and Gilbert had decided when they were going to break up, they hadn’t even really _talked_ about it—

“I love this song!” Diana cheered in Anne’s ear to be heard above the first few notes of Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts” being pumped out over the speakers. All thoughts of Gilbert and their (maybe?) impending break up were erased from her mind as seemingly their entire class found their way to the dancefloor.

Gilbert did join their group a little while later, smiling broadly as he found Anne in the crowd. Anne found herself smiling back, reaching through the throng of people to grab Gilbert’s hand to bring him closer.

“I need a drink!” Anne said after a few songs.

“I’ll join you,” Gilbert said, following Anne off of the dancefloor. “Careful.” Gilbert pulled Anne out of the way of a couple too engrossed in their dancing to move out of their way. They finally, and safely, made it off the dancefloor. “Someone is going to step on your toes.”

Anne was, in fact, still barefoot. She rolled her eyes good naturedly at Gilbert’s fussing, replying, “it wouldn’t be any worse than falling off of Charlie Sloane’s roof.”

“So you’re doing it just to spite me, then?” Gilbert asked, teasing.

“I didn’t climb on Charlie’s roof to spite you.”

“Then why?”

“I did it to impress you.”

The words fell out of Anne’s mouth without her permission. Surely her brain was oxygen deprived from all the dancing—

Gilbert’s face when from confusion to incredulity to... something Anne couldn’t quite place. His lips were twitching, like they were threatening to break out into a grin. Anne couldn’t look at Gilbert Blythe’s stupidly symmetrical face any longer, turning away.

“Hey, hey, hey,” he said, grabbing her around the waist and turning her in his arms. “You can’t just say that and then run away.”

“I can do whatever I want,” Anne replied indignantly.

Gilbert was still grinning, “why did you want to impress me?” he asked.

Anne sighed. “I wanted to impress all of you, I guess. And Josie was goading me, as she had all year, and I was so _tired_ of being the girl who tore the beloved Gilbert Blythe’s book in half. And,” Anne met Gilbert’s eye, he was waiting patiently for her to finish. “And I thought maybe you’d stop teasing me if I impressed you.”

“Anne,” Gilbert sighed, catching her face in his hands and bringing their gazes together. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Anne shrugged. And miraculously, it _was_. “Breaking my ankle sort of ruined my summer, but I’m over it. Truly, Gilbert,” she added when he looked thoroughly unconvinced.

Instead of replying right away, Gilbert dropped a kiss to her forehead. “C’mon, let’s get some punch.”

***

Anne didn’t put her dreaded shoes back on until the need to pee outweighed the dull ache in her feet. She was willing to walk around the Avonlea Dance Hall barefoot, but she drew the line at the bathroom.

She slipped the shoes on and made her way to the bathroom, locking herself into the first stall. As she struggled to pick up her skirts, the door to the bathroom opened and closed again, the sound of voices following it.

“That dress is so pretty on you,” someone said. It sounded like Tillie Boulter. Which meant—

“Thanks, Tillie,” Josie Pye replied. “Did you see Gilbert earlier? He could barely take his eyes off me.”

“Really?” Tillie asked.

“Yes, really. God,” Josie said indignantly. “Did you see what Anne was wearing? I think _Ice Queen_ is truly a fitting nickname now.”

Anne’s breath caught in her throat, but she didn’t dare make any more noise than that.

“I think Anne looked pretty tonight.”

Josie scoffed. “I mean, sure. It’s a nice enough dress. I tried it on at Lawson’s too.”

“I don’t remember you trying on a blue dress.”

“Whatever, it’s not important, Tillie.” One of them turned the faucet on for a few seconds. When it shut off, Josie said, “Gilbert said he’d save a dance for me, God knows he doesn’t want to spend the whole night with Surly Anne Shirley. I think he’s still in love with me, we'll probably be back together by the end of the summer. Are you done?” she added impatiently. 

“Almost,” Tillie replied, the hand dryer turning on for a few seconds. The two of them left the bathroom after that.

Anne finished up her business and washed her hands, mind reeling. When she looked at herself in the mirror, her expression was vacant and unfeeling. In a haze, Anne left the bathroom and walked back into the dance hall. She made a beeline for their table, grabbing her purse and having enough mind to check if everything was inside it.

The DJ had been playing some sort of dubstep remix of that Killers song everyone loved that seamlessly transitioned into something slower and softer. Anne watched as everyone on the dancefloor coupled up, Taylor Swift’s voice filtering through the speakers.

Anne froze when Gilbert made his way out of the throng of people, searching the rest of the dance hall. His gaze finally landed on Anne, face lighting up as he saw her. Anne turned away and stalked out of the room.

She could barely feel the pain in her feet.

It didn’t take long for Gilbert to catch up to her enough to call out to her, Anne stepping out of the dance hall and on to Main Street. They weren’t far from the bridge, which meant it wouldn’t be long before she would be home. That kept Anne marching on.

“Anne!” Gilbert called out after her. “Where are you going?”

Anne ignored him, the bridge finally in sight. Not much further now.

“Anne, _please_ ,” Gilbert caught her arm, turning her around. “Where are you—Anne?”

Anne felt tears streaming down her face, but she didn’t wipe them away. Instead, Anne tugged her hand from Gilbert’s grip and continued down the street. It took him a few beats to follow her, Gilbert jogging to keep up.

“Anne, will you please tell me what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, Gilbert. Just go. _Please_.”

They finally made it to the bridge. The lights were still on at Green Gables, a beacon in the darkness. “I don’t believe that for a second.”

“Why don’t you go find Josie? Didn’t you promise her a dance?”

“Okay, I’m tired of this.” Gilbert stopped her again. They were halfway across the bridge. “What is your problem with Josie Pye?”

“I don’t have a problem with Josie Pye other than the fact that you obviously want to get back together with her and you can’t just be discreet about it for another week.”

“Why do you think I want to get back together with _Josie_?”

“Because you’re still in love with her!” Anne exclaimed, voice threatening to crack.

“I’m not in love with—”

Anne cut him off. “Don’t lie to me, Gilbert.”

“I’m not _lying_.”

“How am I supposed to belie—”

“Because I’m in love with you!” Gilbert said, cutting her off. He looked mad in the low light of the streetlamps, hair a sweaty mess from dancing, cheeks pink. “I’m in love with _you_ , Anne.”

Anne thought that the first time she heard those words that she would feel lighter than air, that they would be music to her ears. When Gilbert said them, Anne felt nothing but anxiety rising in her throat.

“You’re joking,” she managed to get out.

Gilbert ran a hand though his hair, mussing it further. “I’m not,” he sounded much more composed. “Anne, I—”

“Stop, Gilbert.” Anne took two steps away, needing some breathing room. “You don’t love me. You just _think_ that you love me.”

“Anne.” Gilbert laughed humorlessly. “I’ve loved you as long as I can remember.” He studied Anne for a moment. “It’s always been you.”

“No, Gilbert. It hasn’t always been me. You dated Josie for three _years_ —"

“That’s because I thought you hated me. And it was wrong to be with Josie for that long, knowing how I felt about you. I get that, that’s why I broke things off with her.”

That caught Anne by surprise. “ _You_ broke up with Josie?” Gilbert nodded silently. “She said—”

“Josie Pye is a liar. It’s what she does to cope,” he shrugged. “I’m no better than her, really. If it makes it easier on her to say she ended things... Well, who am I to judge?” Gilbert stuffed his hands in his pockets. “But, _you_ , Anne. You’re the one that I love. The only one.”

Anne was speechless. Gilbert looked so earnest, like he really, truly meant what he was saying.

For some reason, it didn’t make Anne feel any better.

“What was your endgame, here, Gilbert?”

“What?” he asked, face falling.

“With pretending to date me? Were you going to trick me into being your girlfriend?”

“Anne, no. Of course not. I would never—” Gilbert scrubbed a hand over his face, sighing heavily. “I thought maybe you’d see that I’m not all that bad. That maybe you’d give me a real chance if you knew what I was like as a boyfriend.”

Anne didn’t respond, couldn’t respond. It was all just too insane to even _consider_ —

“Anne, please say something. You’re killing me here.”

“No.”

“No?”

“ _No_. I can’t,” Anne turned away, but Gilbert caught her arm again. “I don’t feel the same way about you, Gilbert.”

The words tasted like ash in her mouth.

“I don’t believe that.”

Anne felt her chest tighten. “You can’t tell me how I feel—”

“Okay, maybe you’re not in love with me, Anne. But you like me. I know it.”

“I’m not right for you, Gil. I don’t know why you’re the only one who can’t see that.”

“The only one? Anne, you must be out of your mind if you think that. Literally no one was surprised when we started dating.”

Anne scoffed. “Everyone except Josie Pye.”

“Why do you keep bringing this back to _Josie_?”

For some reason, Anne had suddenly had enough, everything snapping into sharp focus. “Do you not think I know what she calls me behind my back?” Anne countered. “ _Surly Anne Shirley_. _Ice Queen_.” Gilbert’s face went blank, not with surprise, but with horror. “And you knew too, _God_.”

“I thought you didn’t need me to protect you,” Gilbert responded, voice tight. His anger and frustration meeting hers.

(Why did he think he loved her? Didn’t he see that all they ever did was fight?)

“It’s different! It’s different and you know it, Gilbert.”

“How?”

“Because I am comfortable enough in myself to know that Josie Pye is wrong about me. She’s small-minded and her opinions don’t matter, and in ten years, I’m going to be glad that I didn’t shrink myself down for the likes of Josie Pye.” Anne was breathing heavily now. “But you, Gilbert? She’s your friend. You choose to keep her in your life despite what she says about me.

“Maybe you think you love me, but you’re also ashamed of how you feel. I don’t want that. I don’t _deserve_ that.” Anne stepped away, Gilbert reaching out for her. “No.”

“Anne—”

“Next week, after they announce the Avery? We’re done.”

“Anne—” he tried again.

“And I don’t want you to drive me to school anymore. Starting Monday.”

Gilbert sighed, but he nodded. “Okay.”

“Goodnight, Gilbert.”

(Why did it feel like the end of something?)

“Goodnight, Anne.”

Anne turned away and walked towards Green Gables.

***

For the week following prom, Anne felt like she was in some sort of haze. She could barely focus, barely remember what happened. Thankfully, the drama with Gilbert had no effect on her schoolwork, the only time she truly felt like herself was when she was in class.

But every other hour of the day? Anne found herself wandering the halls during breaks, wandering the grounds of Green Gables until Matthew was sent out to find her for dinner.

She was a mess. 

Diana did her best, bringing Anne coffee every morning, even driving down the lane to come pick her up from Green Gables. Jane and Ruby were none the wiser with Diana running interference. She told them that Anne was just worried about the Avery and that she’d be right as rain in no time.

Anne hoped she was right.

It was good that Diana knew about the nature of her relationship with Gilbert from the start. Anne had called her the next morning to relay the story, semi-robotically as her friend dutifully listened.

She and Gilbert still held hands in the hall, but other than that, they had no contact. Anne knew she should try harder, but she just didn’t have it in her, even for one more week.

On Saturday morning, Anne, Marilla, and Matthew climbed into Matthew’s old pickup truck and made the sojourn to Charlotte. They were to have lunch with Aunt Josephine at her house before the Avery dinner. Aunt Jo had offered to let them stay the night, but Matthew had to do the morning chores at Green Gables, so they were making a round-trip. Anne was nervous, but glad that this whole mess was almost over. She was counting down the hours.

It was nice getting to see Aunt Jo again, even though it hadn’t been that long since she had seen her last. They hung around the manor, walking the grounds, to kill the time, before Marilla ushered Anne into a bathroom to get ready for the dinner.

The Avery Foundation reserved a backroom of an Italian restaurant in downtown Charlotte, a politely smiling host leading them to the party room.

Gilbert and Mr. Blythe were already sat down. Anne sighed, but lead Matthew and Marilla to the empty seats next to them regardless. Her guardians were aware of the tension between her and Gilbert. Matthew had waited up for Anne on prom night, utterly surprised to find her home before ten. She didn’t tell him everything, of course, but Matthew had comforted her while they watched old movies in the living room.

“Hi, Gilbert.”

“Hi, Anne,” he responded as they sat. “Marilla. Matthew.”

“Hi, Gilbert,” Marilla said. Matthew did not respond. Squeezing Anne’s hand under the table.

“Hi, Mr. Blythe,” Anne said, leaning across Gilbert to greet him.

“Hello, Anne. You doin’ well, sweetheart?”

“Great, Mr. Blythe.” Anne didn’t spare Gilbert a glance. “I’m doing great.”

There was a fixed menu for the evening, servers coming around to take everyone’s orders and fill glasses with ice water. While they were waiting, Anne and Gilbert went to visit with some of the other finalists, his hand clammy in hers.

Ms. Evan’s and the film crew were milling around as well, getting shots of the finalists interacting with one another. She pulled Anne and Gilbert aside for a quick interview, not that Anne remembered much of what she said, too nervous to be coherent. Ms. Evans just smiled at them knowingly and sent them back to their seats.

Once dinner had been served and eaten, waiters coming around to bring everyone scoops of gelato, Ms. Brooke took to a wooden lectern in the corner.

“Hello, and welcome finalists, family, and friends.” She smiled tightly at the crowd before launching into her speech, going over some of the statistics about this year’s class of applicants and finalists. She spoke on behalf of the Board about how difficult it was to choose who would receive the top two scholarships. Because of that, the Board had decided to provide a few smaller scholarships for other deserving finalists, and each member of the Board chose one finalist who would receive $15,000 dollars over four years.

The Board members came up, one by one, to award their scholarships. Mr. Daniels had chosen, unsurprisingly, Jen Pringle; the brunette smiling blithely at the photographer as their photo was taken.

“Even when she gets fifteen thousand dollars she seems unimpressed,” Anne said under her breath. Gilbert laughed quietly next to her, but Anne refused to look his way.

The next few awards went to people Anne didn’t know very well, and she grew increasingly more anxious as the awards were handed out, memories of her botched interview coming to mind.

Ms. Brooke took back to the lectern. “The final recipient of the Board’s awards is a person with a bright, bright future ahead of them. I would like you all to congratulate Mr. Lewis Allen.”

Anne yelped in surprise, clapping and cheering for Lewis as he met Ms. Brooke at the front of the room to accept his award. From where she was sitting, Anne could see that Lewis was crying, cheeks wide in a grin as his photo was taken.

“And now,” Ms. Brooke said, once Lewis had returned to his seat. “For our two largest scholarships of the evening. The Gold Ribbon is awarded to the applicant with the best personal statement, demonstrating not only great ability, but storytelling and a grasp of language as well. The award is for $40,000 over four years. This year’s winner of the Gold Ribbon is...”

Ms. Brooke paused for effect, Anne gripping Matthew’s hand. This was her only chance—

“Mr. Gilbert Blythe,” she said, smiling at him from the front of the room.

“Oh my god,” Gilbert breathed next to her, pushing his chair out but not yet standing up.

“Congratulations,” Anne said, voice tight. She tried not to let her disappointment show. “You deserve it.”

Gilbert looked over at her, expression wide open and saying a million things. “Go on,” she said and then pressed a kiss to his cheek.

After a moment, Gilbert finally stood and walked to the front of the room, shaking Ms. Brooke’s hand and accepting the plaque she held out to him. He was grinning down at the plaque as he held it in his arms, even as Ms. Brooke tried to get him to look up for the photographer.

Anne slumped back into her seat, feeling defeated. She hoped she could keep from crying until she was in the privacy of Matthew’s car.

“What’s wrong, Anne-girl?” Matthew asked.

“I didn’t get the Avery, I told you how bad my interview went. It’s fine.”

“Anne—” he started; mouth snapping shut at Ms. Brooke started speaking again.

“Our final scholarship to award this evening is very near and dear to me. For those of you who don’t know, I am the first ever recipient of the Avery, so I take it’s issuing very seriously. Since I have joined the Board of Trustees for the foundation, I have not seen the Board agree quite so quickly on a finalist to award the scholarship to.”

Anne just deflated further. Ms. Brooke didn’t have to rub it in—

“I’d like to present the 2020 Avery Foundation Scholarship to Ms. Anne Shirley.”

Anne could see the room burst into applause, could feel Matthew shaking at her side, but Anne didn’t believe it. Didn’t believe that Ms. Brooke had said her name. It must have been a mistake.

She turned to Matthew and Marilla to tell them it was a mistake, but it was no use. Her guardians pulled her into a tight hug, both of them crying in pride.

“You did it,” Matthew was saying over and over again. “Anne, you really did it.”

When they pulled away, Anne could see Ms. Evans standing behind one of the camera operators who was shooting her and the Cuthberts. Anne could see Ms. Evans inconspicuously wiping at her eyes.

“Way to go, Carrots,” Gilbert said lowly before wrapping her in a hug. “I knew it would be you,” he whispered in her ear. When he let her go, Gilbert pressed a kiss to her forehead before urging her towards the lectern.

On her way to accept the award, Lewis stopped her, pulling Anne into a quick hug. “Congrats,” he said.

“You too,” she choked out, tears finally streaming down her face. Lewis just grinned and jerked his head towards Ms. Brooke.

Anne finally made it to the front of the room, shaking Ms. Brooke’s outstretched hand. “Congratulations, Ms. Shirley.”

Ms. Brooke handed Anne the award, it was a little glass sculpture with a little metal plaque at the bottom. Like Gilbert, she couldn’t look away from the thing, reading the plaque over and over again.

Anne Shirley

The Avery Foundation Scholarship Winner

2020

“Thank you,” Anne managed to get out, meeting Ms. Brooke’s eye. “You have no idea—”

“I know, Anne.” She smiled broadly; some may even call it a grin. “You deserve this. Now, smile,” she turned toward Anne forward towards the camera.

From the back of the room, Gilbert caught her eye, smiling up at her in a way that was all too familiar to Anne. She had always thought of that as Gilbert’s smug, all-knowing but won’t tell, smile. The mask he put on when he didn’t want to be found out.

But Anne was wrong. So, _so_ wrong.

It was the smile he reserved just for Anne, the one only she ever got to see. And it wasn’t impossible to read, she just hadn’t been paying attention.

Anne smiled back, and the flashbulbs went off.

***

Graduation day rolled around faster than Anne ever expected. The first day back after the Avery had been exciting, theor principal calling an assembly for Anne and Gilbert.

Things between them were weird, to say the least. Though Anne wasn’t quite sure if it was because for the first time since Gilbert had stayed home sick all the way back in February, Anne wasn’t holding Gilbert’s hand in the hall, or if it was because Gilbert was avoiding her altogether.

Which he was, Anne was sure of that.

She didn’t blame him, of course. But she didn't like the tension and unsurety. 

Gilbert couldn't avoid her forever, not before they graduated and went off to school and never saw each other again. He was able to avoid being alone with Anne until graduation day, the two of them being called to school early on the day by Ms. Stacey.

Anne wandered the empty halls of Avonlea High, reminiscing. She passed by the stairwell she and Diana had hid in during the freshman semi-formal after they saw Moody Spurgeon, who Diana had a massive crush on at the time, kissing Tillie Boulter. Then she stopped at her locker from junior year where she used to sneak glances at Morgan Harris at his locker down the hall. At last, Anne found herself in front of the main office, which was all too familiar to her, considering how many hours she had spent in Ms. Stacey’s office over the years.

“Hey, Anne,” Gilbert said, coming up behind her.

“Hi, Gil.” Anne smiled over at him, but Gilbert didn’t return the gesture.

“You coming?” he asked, pushing open the door. He didn’t wait for her response, walking through the door and towards Ms. Stacey’s office.

Anne followed after him, taking the empty chair in front of Ms. Stacey’s desk. “Hello, you two, happy graduation day!” Ms. Stacey cheered, her smile not quite meeting her eyes; it was a bittersweet expression. “How are you guys?”

“I’m doing well. Excited. Gilbert?” Anne turned to look at him, but Gilbert didn’t meet her eye.

“I’m good.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I remember my graduation day well, I was so nervous,” Ms. Stacey smiled at them reassuringly. “I’m sure you both know why you’re here.”

Anne nodded and Gilbert said, “are you going to tell us who’s valedictorian?”

She and Gilbert had been neck-and-neck all year for the top spot in their class, and they had been instructed to write both their valedictorian and salutatorian speeches by Ms. Stacey a few weeks ago.

“I am,” Ms. Stacey breathed out a laugh. “This is the closest I’ve ever seen the valedictorian and salutatorian in all my years in education. You two are quite impressive. It was decided that we would average the scores on your final exams to decide.” Ms. Stacey pulled out a pair of folders and handed one to each of them. “Your speeches are in there. Open them.”

Anne spared a glance at Gilbert who was staring down at the folder in apprehension. “On three?” Anne offered.

Gilbert breathed out a laugh, looking over at her. “Sure.”

Anne smiled. “One, two,” she paused, Gilbert rolling his eyes. “Three!”

Anne opened her folder to see her valedictory speech sitting in her lap.

“Congratulations, Anne,” Gilbert said, sounding sincerely congratulatory.

“Ms. Stacey, are you sure—”

“Don’t, Anne.” Gilbert said. He closed her folder and forced her gaze up to meet his. “You deserve it.” Gilbert closed his folder and stood. “I should go, I’ll see you later.”

“Gil—” Anne called after him.

“Let him go, Anne. It’ll be alright.”

Anne turned back to Ms. Stacey. “Why do I feel so bad?”

“I know it’s hard. You want to be valedictorian but that doesn’t mean you want Gilbert to _not_ be valedictorian. You’re friends. You hate to see him upset, even if it means something good for you.”

“Are we? Friends, I mean. We’ve barely spoken since...” Anne trailed off.

Ms. Stacey sighed and stood, joining Anne on the other side of her desk and pulling her into a hug. “You two will be alright, with time.”

“I doubt we’ll see each other after today.”

“Why do you say that? You’ll both be here for the summer. And Harvard and Brown aren’t that far apart.”

“An hour and half by bus, forty-five minutes by car,” Anne replied, automatically. “Why do I know that?”

Ms. Stacey laughed, Anne feeling more than hearing the sound. “Anne Shirley, if you have to ask yourself that, you’re not ready for the answer.” Ms. Stacey pulled away. “Now you should get out of here, you’ve got a big night ahead.”

Anne stood, taking her speech in hand. “Thank you, Ms. Stacey, for... everything over the last four years. I don’t know how to thank you properly—”

“It was my pleasure, Anne. We are kindred spirits, you know.”

Anne felt a few tears well up in her eyes, but they didn’t spill over until she had tugged Ms. Stacey in for another hug. “I’ll miss you most of all.”

***

A few hours later, Anne returned to Avonlea High, Marilla dropping her off near the gym. She had been ecstatic to hear that Anne was the valedictorian, tearing up slightly in the kitchen at Green Gables when Anne told her.

Anne made her way into the gym where the rest of her class was gathered, a sea of forest green polyester. She found Diana quickly, and the two of them searched for Ruby and Jane. On their search, Anne found Gilbert and Moody, the two of them having a serious conversation on one of the bleachers.

“Come on, Anne. I found them.”

Before long, they were lining up and filing out of the gym and onto the football field. Anne and Gilbert at the end of the line and taking their seats up on the stage rather than among their classmates. “Pomp and Circumstance” petering out as the class of 2020 settled into their seats, Anne catching Diana’s eye in the front row.

Anne could barely pay attention to the ceremony with an anxious Gilbert Blythe bouncing his leg next to her through the whole thing.

“Relax,” Anne said, placing a hand on his leg. “You’ll be great.”

Gilbert seemed to do just that. “Thanks, Anne.”

A few minutes later, the vice principal introduced Gilbert and called him up to the mic to give his address.

“Thank you, Mr. Donoghue. Good afternoon and welcome, family, friends, and my fellow graduates. It is an honor to be standing in front of you today as your salutatorian.” There was a round of applause, Gilbert pausing. “I grew up here, in Avonlea, grew up with most of you. We have seen each other through our best, and our worst times. Like when Charlie Sloane tripped and broke his nose during recess in third grade,” Gilbert paused for laughter, “or when Tillie Boulter won the middle school talent show with her incredible rendition of Celine Dion’s ‘My Heart Will Go On’ when we were in sixth grade.” There were a few cheers for Tillie, Gilbert smiling from the lectern.

“Growing up in a small town means that sometimes it’s impossible to escape our more embarrassing moments. Our illustrious valedictorian can tell you that,” Gilbert glanced over at Anne, smiling her smile. “On her first day at Avonlea Intermediate, Anne Shirley tore my copy of _The Outsiders_ clean in half. And I’m not reminding all of you of that story to tease Anne, of course. I tell it because so often the reason she ripped my book in half goes unmentioned, so I'll remind you of it right now. I wanted to meet Anne Shirley so badly that I called her _Carrots_ and pulled on one of her braids.” Gilbert glanced over at her again, this time for just a moment. “I’m lucky she didn’t try to break a slate over my head.”

Gilbert’s speech went on like that, no embarrassing story left untold. Anne made a few more appearances, of course, she had more than her share of embarrassing stories, like falling off of Charlie Sloane’s roof, or when she had been caught reading _Jane Eyre_ in geometry class freshman year.

“As we think about the last four, or seven, or thirteen years we have spent together, it’s important to remember that we have so much more that lies ahead. We are more than our embarrassing high school stories, even when it doesn’t feel like it. I had a moment like that recently, and a very wise person recently told me, _you are going to be amazing_.”

Anne recognized those words, but she couldn’t quite place them.

“And I’d like to extend those words to you,” Gilbert continued. “Hopefully, they give you the same hope they gave me. Thank you, Class of 2020; it has been an honor. Now, I’d like to welcome your valedictorian, Anne Shirley.”

There was uproarious applause as Gilbert stepped away from the lectern. He shook hands with the administrators sitting on stage, stopping to hug Ms. Stacey. “Good luck, Carrots,” he said as he passed Anne, descending down the stairs and to his vacant seat in the front row.

Anne took her place at the lectern, speech laid out in front of her. “Thank you, Gilbert, for that thoroughly embarrassing retelling of our formative years.” Anne found him, Gilbert grinning up at her like he had a few weeks ago in Charlotte. It pulled on her heart just the same.

“Good afternoon,” Anne addressed the crowd. “And welcome to Avonlea High’s Class of 2020 commencement.” She paused for applause and cheers, most of them coming from her classmates. “For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Anne Shirley. Anne spelled with an E, if you don’t mind. It’s much more interesting that way.” Anne was surprised to hear the tittering of laughter from the crowd.

“I came to Avonlea the summer before eighth grade, and, as Gilbert already told you, I made quite the splash on my first day of Avonlea Intermediate. I never thought I’d live that story down, you see, and I was always trying to find some way to stop being the girl who tore Gilbert’s book in half.

“When I first sat down to write this speech, I didn’t know what I wanted to say, I didn’t know if I had anything _to_ say. I spent the last five years just trying to evade one embarrassing anecdote. And studying. I did a lot of that. I guess I just worried that I wouldn’t have anything to say up here that would resonate with all of you.”

Anne flipped the page and continued. “And that’s when it hit me. I don’t have to try to connect with all of you, as long as I am true to myself, that authenticity will resonate with you. So, let me tell you all something. I am scared. Terrified, even, of what the next few years will bring. What the next decade will bring. And I know I’m not alone in that.” Anne caught Diana’s eye, her best friend smiling up at her. “We’re all going to leave something here today that we can never get back—”

When Anne looked away from Diana, she found Gilbert, just a few seats down. He was looking up at her, so much emotion in his gaze. It was truly astonishing that she hadn’t seen it sooner, that he loved her. It was so plainly written on his face.

At once, she remembered those words Gilbert had referenced in his speech. _You are going to be amazing_. _She_ had said them to him before his interview with the Avery, when she had so easily buoyed him even though she had just bombed her own interview.

How had she not realized it sooner? She was in love with Gilbert Blythe.

“But not all will be lost today,” Anne continued, despite her earth-shattering revelation. “Just because we are growing up doesn't mean we have to grow apart. I, I,” Anne breathed out a heavy breath. “I know that this is scary, but we are stronger than we know. And I can promise you this, we are all going to do amazing things when we leave here today. I just know it.”

Anne looked back down at Gilbert, giving her that perfect, private little smile. “Before I go, I want to share an excerpt of one of my favorite poems with you, 'The Highway Man' by Alfred Noyes.” Anne took a deep breath and steadied herself before reciting the first stanza:

_The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees._

_The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas._

_The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,_

_And the highwayman came riding—_

_Riding—riding—_

_The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door_.

“I know that it seems to be an oddly ominous poem on this, decidedly, _not_ ominous occasion. But the future is uncertain and ominous at times, but we must be like the Highway Man. Ready to gallop into literal and metaphorical darkness. The only way out is through. _Per aspera ad astra_ ; through hardships to the stars."

Anne looked out at her class, their bright and smiling faces looking up at her.

“Thank you, Class of 2020; you are going to be amazing.”

At the conclusion of her speech, Gilbert was the first to clap, their class following suit, and then it was the whole stadium applauding her. It was a surreal experience. Anne felt tears prick in her eyes, so overcome with pride and something else she couldn't quite name. When she looked into the crowd, only one face mattered.

When she found Gilbert Blythe, he was already looking back at her.

***

Ms. Stacey and Mr. Donoghue took turns reading off their names, Anne’s classmates crossing the stage to shake hands and grab their diplomas before descending on to the field and back to their seats.

Anne was near the end of the line, having been sent to her seat after her speech. When her name was called, there was a loud bust of cheers from Matthew and Marilla. Anne felt a rush of pride as she shook hands with the administrators and finally, finally had her diploma in hand.

The rest of the ceremony passed in a blur, and suddenly the field was flooded with parents and friends and loved ones, coming to congratulate the graduates. Anne remained in her designated spot until Matthew and Marilla were able to find her, a bouquet of bright flowers in hand.

“Your speech was amazing, Anne,” Matthew said, still a little teary-eyed.

“You are so soft, Matthew Cuthbert,” Marilla commented, squeezing Anne into, yet another, hug. “I’m so proud of you.” She whispered.

“Thanks.” Anne finally extricated herself from Marilla’s grip. “I need to find—”

“Anne!” Diana said, appearing in the crowd. “Come on, Aunt Jo wants to see you!”

Anne was dragged away by Diana, Matthew and Marilla following in her wake. She was stopped along the way, by strangers and classmates alike, complementing her on her speech. When they finally made it to the Barrys, Jane and Ruby had arrived, and the four of them took a slew of photos.

“Have you seen Gilbert?” Anne asked Diana, once Jane and Ruby had disappeared, apparently looking for the rest of the yearbook committee.

“Huh?” Diana said, turning back to her.

“Nothing,” Anne rose up on her tip toes. She spotted a familiar flash of dark hair. Gilbert turned and saw her, eyes lighting up in recognition. “I gotta—”

“Anne, if we want to make our reservation, we need to leave now. Traffic is going to be a nightmare,” Marilla griped, checking her watch.

“I just need—”

“Let’s go,” Marilla decided, grabbing Anne by the arm. “The Barry’s will meet us there.”

Anne let herself be dragged away by Marilla; it was always easier to just acquiesce anyways.

They had an dinner at the Bistro, Rachel coming to congratulate Anne in person, even bringing her a bouquet of mums. The Barry’s arrived not long after, and Anne was happy to be surrounded by so many familiar, loving faces...

There was just one missing.

Once they were back at Green Gables, Marilla took Anne’s flowers and got to work getting them into water. Matthew had retired to the living room, the distinct sounds of old westerns playing on the TV. While they were both distracted, Anne slipped out of the back door and through the orchard, stopping when the bridge was in sight.

It wasn’t the bridge that gave her pause, but the person walking across it.

Gilbert Blythe, still dressed in his white oxford and his slim fit khakis, was walking across the bridge towards Green Gables.

Anne breathed a sigh of relief before making her way down the bank and to the bridge. Gilbert, having spotted her, stopped at the halfway point.

It seemed like a metaphor.

“Hi, Anne.”

“Hi, Gil,” Anne said, stopping in front of him.

There was a tense pause in which Gilbert was staring at Anne, and Anne was staring at Gilbert.

“Look—” he started, glancing down and away.

“I love you, too,” Anne said, tired of beating around the bush.

Gilbert’s head snapped back up. “What?” he asked, voice tight and tinny.

It made Anne smile, knowing that she still had the ability to catch Gilbert Blythe off-guard. “I love you, Gilbert Blythe. I’m _in_ love with you.”

“But. You. And I” Gilbert sputtered, still shocked beyond monosyllabic words. “Since when?”

“Longer than I care to admit,” Anne responded truthfully. “Since our first kiss, maybe.”

“But, I thought you said—”

“I didn’t want to admit it to myself. I didn’t want to acknowledge it... I was scared, Gil.”

Gilbert’s voice was full of hope when he said, “and now?”

“And now I don’t care. It’s good to do things that scare you, that’s how we grow.”

“We’re going to different schools at the end of the summer,” Gilbert said, taking one step closer to her.

Anne smiled and shrugged. “It’s only an hour and a half by train.”

He took her hands. “It won’t be easy,” the words were heavy, but he had her smile on his face, his eyes crinkling up at the edges.

“I don’t want easy. I just want _you_.”

Gilbert gave held back for a moment, presumably to give Anne the opportunity to take it back and change her mind.

But Anne didn’t wasn’t to take it back, and she wasn’t going to change her mind.

“Kiss me, Gilbert.”

And Gilbert did just that.

***

Some time and many, many kisses later, Gilbert said, “I love you, Anne Shirley.”

Anne squeezed his hand, head tipped against his shoulder and looked out on the pond. She was so at peace here. Had there ever been a more perfect moment?

“I love you, too, Gilbert Blythe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! I can't believe I did that. Like half of that chapter came out of me all at once and I am wiped.
> 
> So sorry again for the long wait, as it turns out, I have somehow had less free time since the quarantine started. 
> 
> Thank you again to Ariel for her donation to FTH2020, I really did enjoy working on this!
> 
> Comments/Kudos are always greatly appreciated!
> 
> You can find me [here.](https://andtimestoodstill.tumblr.com)

**Author's Note:**

> This is for the lovely Ariel who requested a 80s miniseries cannon fake dating AU after donating for FTH2020, and it very quickly got away from me. Thank you so much for the prompt, I've had so much fun writing it! I really hope you enjoy it 💛
> 
> Part II will be up in the next few days, you can expect more pining and obliviousness then. 
> 
> Hope all of you are staying safe and healthy, hopefully these 13k words make your social distancing a little more bearable!
> 
> Comments/Kudos are always greatly appreciated!
> 
> You can find me [here.](https://andtimestoodstill.tumblr.com)


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